Book to Movie: The End of the Affair

Summary: In post-WWII England, an American writer hires a private detective to learn why his mistress ended their adulterous affair so abruptly. ~amazon.com

Review: You know how some books translate well to movies and maybe tell the story a bit better than the book, well for me that was The End of the Affair. A fast
-paced movie this is not but a solid, historical romance it is. Plus you can't really go wrong with Julianne Moore as Sarah and Ralph Fiennes as Bendrix and it's set in the 1940s. The setting is gray and gloomy as is the love story but the clothing is superb.

The movie adaptation seemed to follow the book closely until the end. I really don't recall Henry and Bendrix taking care of Sarah towards the end. As in the book, none of the characters are likable and yet you want to know what their fate will be. Will Sarah chose Bendrix over Henry? Will she leave them both? As in the book, I got the same feeling that Bendrix was a tad bit more in love with Sarah than she was with him. Also, in the book the relationship with Sarah and the Priest is a bit more romantic than it seems in the movie.

I'm glad that I watched the movie because it did make the switching between the present and the past a bit easier to understand. Ralph and Julianne are excellent as elicit lovers who are trying to define each other and what they feel as each other.

There is also a more classical version of The End of the Affair with Deborah Kerr for those of you who are into the classics.

Final Take: 3.5/5