Separate Lies

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Separate Lies

R

2005

1h 27m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

72%

Tomatometer

85 Reviews

47%

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

Jun 28, 2022

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...

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Jamie Woolley

BBC.com

Nov 1, 2005

3/5

A solidly made but strangely lightweight drama.

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Raoul Hernandez

Austin Chronicle

Oct 30, 2005

3.5/5

Julian Fellowes is two for two.

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Jun 9, 2010

B

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

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Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Apr 19, 2009

B+

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

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Urban Cinefile Critics

Urban Cinefile

May 13, 2006

A fascinating character study of lies, truth and the consequences

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Alain E

@AlainE Dec 18, 2025

An excellent drama with a superb performance by the late great Tom Wilkinson. I would rate this as equivalent to In the Bedroom. The point of the movie is human interactions. If someone sees crime and mystery, they have completely misunderstood the movie.

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Madeline R

@RT00765985 Oct 23, 2024

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.

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Ron G

@RT93051786 Oct 10, 2024

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.

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Fiona S

@RT76451171 Aug 1, 2024

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.

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Marco M

@RT40736272 Jul 23, 2023

Solid film with great performances.

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isla s

@RT89656869 Sep 4, 2022

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.

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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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