Synopsis

At first glance, the marriage of James Manning and his wife Anne could not be more picture perfect. He is a wealthy respected international lawyer; while Anne is a bright and charming homemaker. They reside in a gorgeous country home, have another in London, and enjoy a privileged, peaceful existence with few real worries. It would be absurd to think that such a partnership could be torn apart in just a few tragic seconds. Yet that is precisely what happens. It all begins when the husband of the Mannings' cleaning lady Maggie, is found near death just down the road, the victim of a hit and run. At first, it seems to be a random, but tragic accident. But then James begins to suspect that their neighbor might be to blame for what becomes a vehicular homicide.

What The Critics Say

"A riveting morality play about the slippery slope of deception and the folly of dividing the world simplistically into those who are good and those who are evil." Frederic and Mary Ann SPIRITUALITY AND PRACTICE "Although there's an accident, adultery and death, Separate Lies is no who-dun-it. Oscar winning script-writer Julian Fellowes' directing debut is a fascinating character study of lies, truth and the consequences. His adaptation of Nigel Balcin's novel "A Way Through The Wood" offers a front row seat in the life of a man whose emotional turmoil prompts him to question his own morals." Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE "The acting in this adult drama is uniformly superb, and it is rare that a film reveals the secret and unpalatable innards of married life so honestly." Marcy Dermansky ABOUT.COM "This exquisite gem of a film is distinguished by really, really fine performances from everybody, but the three leads especially. And while you could expect the transposition of a story from 1951 to the present day to have its clunky moments, there are none." Margaret Pomeranz ABC AT THE MOVIES "If there's pleasure to be derived from the misfortunes of others, then Julian Fellowes' wickedly entertaining adaptation of Nigel Balchin's nearly forgotten 1951 novel is a barrel of fun. 4 1/2 STARS." Ken Fox TV GUIDE'S MOVIE GUIDE

"Everything about Separate Lies is deliciously underdone and perfect. ... a great story, wonderfully acted." Steve Rhodes INTERNET REVIEWS "Separate Lies explores what happens when moral responsibility comes face to face with self-interest. Themes of deceit and hypocrisy in the middle class are interwoven into a drama about three people making very poor decisions. 3 STARS." Fenella Kernebone SBS THE MOVIE SHOW "Visually plush and emotionally restrained, Separate Lies is a film to cogitate. Engaging, intriguing and touching, it's about being overburdened with guilt and bewildered by the varying principles that apply when someone else's problem becomes your own." Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE "Sometimes the best thing you can do as a director is to find (or write) a solid screenplay, cast excellent actors, and let those elements work their sorcery together." Eric D Snider ERICDSNIDER.COM "I thought the two leading actors were fantastic. Tom Wilkinson is a favourite actor of mine, and Emily Watson, too." David Stratton ABC AT THE MOVIES

The Inside Story Academy Award ® winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes directorial debut is very much in the style of "Gosford Park" in so much as it is unashamedly a 'character' driven film. While there is a richness in the visual aspect of "Separate Lies" all this melds into the background as the three lead characters are brought to the fore in every scene. "Separate Lies" is an adaptation of Nigel Balchin’s 1951 novel, "A Way Through The Wood". Fellowes friend Jenni Hopkins had just finished reading it and, knowing Fellowes was looking to make a film, suggested he might like to read it too. "What I had in mind was creating a 'moral maze', one of those films in which you are never quite sure whose side you are on," he said. "Where good people do bad things; and where bad (or bad-ish) people do good things. I find in film that I am sometimes unconvinced by that polemic in which the heroes are invariably heroic and where one is told who the ‘bad guys’ are right from the start." Why is that? "Life, it seems to me anyway, is a little more complicated than this," he says. Fellowes, who also wrote the script for "Separate Lies" says it's "a film about love, deceit, emotions and morals. I very much hope that it will cause audiences to debate its themes and to leave the theatre arguing about the characters and who is right and who is wrong." So how much of the 1951 book the London Evening Standard called "a brilliant study of adultery and corrupted ideals" did the writer of "Gosford Park" use? Not a whole lot it seems. "Whenever you adapt a novel, you can only ever take part of the book," he says, "so I used the spine of the novel and then worked from there." And what did he see in the way of a story? "I saw the story as being in part about how when you make one wrong decision in life, it sets you down a path that can’t be changed." he notes. adding "and about how when you lie you think you’ll only tell one lie but you end up telling one hundred and fifty as you get embroiled in it further and further. But the story is also about people who ought to be happy, and aren’t. Which seems to apply to much of the Western world." From the beginning Fellowes says he was "intrigued by the characters’ very specific British, upper-middle-class lifestyles, which are rarely depicted realistically on screen or explored as the significant culture that they are. What was interesting to me was not only exploring how they live but also how they exist in a kind of safety bubble, and what happens when that concept of the perfect life is suddenly shattered." James and Anne Manning, played by Tom Wilkinson and Emily Watson, appear to have that perfect lifestyle until their housekeepers husband is killed by a hit and run driver on the road to their property. Fellowes describes the Mannings as a couple who "have the most apparently ideal modern life. James has a nice job, a nice car, a nice house." It all changes rapidly. "Just one little incident and he's quickly in hell. That's not a particularly English phenomenon, it’s a human one." The third character in this triangle of deceit, mystery and betrayal is William Bule played by Rupert Everett. Many in the audience will instantly label him as 'the bad guy'. Not so says Fellowes. "There are no real villains in this story," he explains. "There are good people who find themselves doing both good and horrible things. Even Rupert Everett’s character, who is perhaps much darker than the others, isn’t a true bad guy. He has his own reasons for everything that he does." Still many will see William Bule as your typical English cad. "I think Julian has a very original way of finding the right emphasis in a story and an ability to find the universal in the particular," says producer Christian Colson of Celador Films. "Both in "Gosford Park" and in this, he delves into an unseen world in a way that is incredibly engaging." That description of 'engaging' also applies to actor New York Film Critics Best Actor Award winner Tom Wilkinson, who before he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, graduated from the University of Kent at Canterbury with a degree in English and American Literature. This is, like his role as Matt Fowler, the grief-stricken father in "In The Bedroom", right up his alley. Many thought his performance as Fowler would gaurner him an Academy Award, but it was not to be. 2001 was a big year with Wilkinson up against Russell Crowe in "A Beautiful Mind," Sean Penn in "I Am Sam," Will Smith in "Ali and the eventual Oscar ® winner Denzel Washington for "Training Day". It was a big one to miss out on but Wilkinson has received other honours including the Order of the British Empire in 2005; the 1986 London Critics Circle Drama Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actor in "Ghosts"; the 1988 London Critics Circle Drama Theatre Award for Best Actor in "An Enemy of the People" and in 2001 was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Kent at Canterbury. Wilkinson says that "Separate Lies" "reminded me so much of "In The Bedroom" is that as with that film, if you strip away the setting, it’s a story that everyone can recognize on the most basic human level." And his thoughts on his character James Manning? "What interested me about James is that he starts out a stuffy, unreflective person who ultimately realizes the true meaning of love in the course of the film. James is a sort of old-fashioned bread winner and he truly sees his marriage with Anne as a wonderful life, not realizing at all that she doesn’t. The fascinating part of the character is that every single one of his assumptions about life is about to be challenged and turned upside down," Wilkinson says, "and suddenly this very staid English lawyer will descend into a maelstrom of criminality and despair." On working with the accomplished actress Emily Watson he states, "Emily was just wonderful to work with. She was so thorough and committed, and also incredibly sexy, which was a wonderful surprise." Watson says it was a pleasure to work with Wilkinson. "We have a lot of scenes that are just the two of us talking. They’re very intense and a lot of hard work, but Tom and I are both very focused and concentrated in the same ways." And working with Rupert Everett? "I had an especially great time working with Rupert because he’s a real live wire," she said. "He’s funny and beautiful and sexy and he gives off that air of 'I don’t give a damn' all the time. I think he really captures that quality of sexual danger that Bill represents to the Mannings' marriage." Producer Colson notes that "Rupert brings a wonderful nonchalance to the character that suits Bill. The natural contrast between Tom and Rupert in terms of age, physical presence and mannerisms works extremely well to highlight the conflict between the characters." Fellowes too was impressed with Everett. "The tendency of most actors would have been to play up Bill’s most arrogant, unattractive qualities, but instead, Rupert maintains another side of the character which humanizes him and makes him sympathetic." Everett says he was attracted to the part because Fellowes screenplay was "a beautfiul story very, very well constructed". There aren’t very many films like it. It’s a bit of a thriller but it’s also got a lot of depth and is also very humorous with really memorable charcters. It seemed to have a lot going for it from my point of view." And how does he see his character? "Bill is fascinating because he is such a mystery to everyone around him," Everett notes. "Everything he does is framed by this secret that he has. It seems of course that he does many inexplicable things, or is even a bit detached from reality, during the course of events, but the audience eventually learns the reasons for why he does what he does. The story is filled with those kinds of emotional surprises." How will audiences react to Bill, James and Anne. I think Fellowes was right on the money when he said "what I’d most like is for audiences to leave the theatre arguing about who did the right thing." It's a sure-fire winner that Separate Lies" will do just that. The Verdict "For those who loved the style of Ismail Merchant and James Ivory's "The Remains of the Day", "Howard's End", "A Room with a View" or Fred Schepisi's "Last Orders", all of which are character driven films, Academy Award winning writer Julian Fellowes directorial debut, "Separate Lies" will provide a very satisfying experience. While there is great intrigue in the storyline, it's the characters that make this a 'real treat' to watch. Outstanding are Tom Wilkinson and Emily Watson as James and Anne Manning. Very recommended. 3 & 1/2 STARS." Cast & Crew Bytes "SEPARATE LIES" stars .......
London Critics Circle Theatre Best Actor & Best Supporting Actor Award winner Tom Wilkinson O.B.E. ["Stage Beauty", "A Good Woman", "Batman Begins" and "The Exorcism of Emily Rose"]; Rupert Everett ["An Ideal Husband", "The Importance of Being Earnest" and "Stage Beauty"]; John Neville ["Dinner At Fred's", "The Duke" and "The Statement"]; Richenda Carey ["Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?", "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" and "Crush"], Linda Bassett ["The Hours", "Calendar Girls", "Colour Me Kubrick" and "Kinky Boots"] and Emily Watson ["Punch-Drunk Love", "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers", "The Proposition" and "Wah-Wah"] as Anne Manning.
"SEPARATE LIES" was .......
directed by Julian Fellowes ["Separate Lies"]; screenplay by Julian Fellowes ["Gosford Park", "Picadilly Jim" and "Vanity Fair"]; adapted from the original novel "A Way Through The Wood" by Nigel Balchin ["23 Paces to Baker Street", "Mine Own Executioner", "The Singer Not the Song" and "Eleven Years and One Day"]; cinematography by Tony Pierce-Roberts ["The Golden Bowl", "Underworld ", "De-Lovely" and "Doom"]; original music by Stanislas Syrewicz ["The Lair of the White Worm", "Strictly Sinatra" and "Extreme Ops"]; production design by Alison Riva ["Brooms", "Miracle at Oxford" and "Long Time Dead"] and costume design by Michele Clapton ["Visions of Ecstasy", "Women Talking Dirty" and "Chromophobia"]. Run Time 85 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2006 - Twentieth Century Fox - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2006 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved