Separate Lies

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Separate Lies

R

Released Sep 16, 2005

1h 27m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

72%

Tomatometer

88 Reviews

46%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

James Manning (Tom Wilkinson), a successful business lawyer, and his younger wife, Anne (Emily Watson), split time between a London apartment and a lush country estate. The couple's seemingly perfect marriage gets complicated when their handsome and wealthy neighbor, Bill (Rupert Everett), returns to town and Anne begins sleeping with him. After Bill and Anne are linked to a hit-and-run death, James, aware of the affair, must choose whether to protect his wife or come forward to the police.

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Critics Consensus

Though the characters in this tasteful adult drama keep a stiff upper lip, the moral dilemmas are nuanced and the emotional pain feels real.

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Wilkinson, returning to meatier fare after Batman Begins and The Exorcism of Emily Rose, gives one of the most complex performances of his career, and the leads are ably assisted by Linda Bassett...

Jun 28, 2022

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Jamie Woolley

BBC.com

A solidly made but strangely lightweight drama.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 1, 2005

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Raoul Hernandez

Austin Chronicle

Julian Fellowes is two for two.

Rated: 3.5/5

Oct 30, 2005

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Wilkinson and Watson give sharply observed performances, that don't allow the film to become a sudser.

Rated: B

Jun 9, 2010

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Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

"Separate Lies" is a hearty mystery/drama that blooms as a succinct social critique of British aristocracy.

Rated: B+

Apr 19, 2009

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Urban Cinefile Critics

Urban Cinefile

A fascinating character study of lies, truth and the consequences

May 13, 2006

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Madeline R

What a stupid story. Good acting, scenery and sets but thats about all. It is not a thriller or a mystery. The plot actually makes little to no sense in that I do not think people would act as they did in this film. A waste of time.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

10/23/24

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Ron G

If this was a Universal Studios movie from the late '50s early '60s starring Lana Turner or Susan Hayward, it would probably work. But today it's just a bad soap opera wasting the talents of a great cast.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

10/10/24

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Fiona S

Leave your suburban judgements on the couch. Julian Fellowes has sculptured a truly frightening portrait of why "the rich are different from you and me!" His script captures the absolute moral entitlement of the British upper class who always realise how much they have to lose when things go wrong. This strong belief is guided by character nuanced performances by all the leads. Don't be fooled by the seemingly immoral pivot decisions "not to tell". The ending is not lightweight as some say, it's heartbreaking.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/01/24

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Marco M

Solid film with great performances.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/23/23

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isla s

This is a pretty average thriller about upper class people (the fact its co-written and directed by Julian Fellowes of 'Downtown Abbey' fame was a bit of a give away). I wasn't too bothered about the characters and didn't find the story too engaging, though I did think Emily Watson gave a good performance. At first I thought I'd guessed the outcome and felt quite clever but I'm not sure it's as simple as I'd assumed. I didn't feel entirely bothered to follow all the sub plots. It comes across a bit like an extended drama show, only without much to compel me to want to find out what happens in the end really... there is somewhat of a twist by the end but its all pretty average, so I wouldn't go out of tyour way to watch it as such, no.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

British lifestyles and sceneries are beautiful. It's a human drama rather than a mystery and suspense. Life is not all fun. Life is not always what people like. Even so, they cannot stop telling lies to protect something. That may be the way the world moves on. Performances of the British actors are great.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

Full Review

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Julian Fellowes

Director

Tom Wilkinson

James Manning

Emily Watson

Anne Manning

Rupert Everett

William Bule

Linda Bassett

Maggie

David Harewood

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Synopsis

James Manning (Tom Wilkinson), a successful business lawyer, and his younger wife, Anne (Emily Watson), split time between a London apartment and a lush country estate. The couple's seemingly perfect marriage gets complicated when their handsome and wealthy neighbor, Bill (Rupert Everett), returns to town and Anne begins sleeping with him. After Bill and Anne are linked to a hit-and-run death, James, aware of the affair, must choose whether to protect his wife or come forward to the police.

Director: Julian Fellowes
Screenwriter: Nigel Balchin, Julian Fellowes
Distributor: Fox
Production Co: Celador Productions
Rating: R (Some Sexual References|Language)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 16, 2005, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $923.3K
Runtime: 1h 27m

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