The End of the affair

During the Second World War, English novelist Maurice Bendrix (Ralph Fiennes) conducted a five year, illicit affair with a married woman (Julieanne Moore). Embittered and bewildered by his lover’s abrupt disappearance after a bomb attack, Maurice has the opportunity to re-enter Sarah’s life after he encounters her husband Henry (Stephen Rea) shortly after the war. Henry, who maintains a platonic relationship with his wife, suspects that she is having an affair and appeals to Maurice to help him find the truth. Overwhelmed by jealousy, Maurice enlists the services of a private detective on the pretext that he is helping Henry. As the film flashes between the present and the past, the motives for Sarah’s actions are gradually revealed. Graham Greene denied that his novel was based on his own affair with Catherine Walston, despite dedicating it to ‘C’ and giving Sarah’s husband the same name as Catherine’s husband. Cast includes Ian Hart and Jason Isaacs. Music composed and conducted by Michael Nyman. Editing, Tony Lawson. Cinematography, Roger Pratt. Written for the screen by Neil Jordan.