Word: bendrix
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...narration. Jordan unadvisedly takes a literal approach here, employing the most drab, extensive set of voiceovers since the awful pre-director's cut version of Blade Runner. (Haven't seen it? Don't.) Fiennes, a subtle actor, is forced to explicitly identify every emotional state his character enters. Does Bendrix really need to tell us how "tortured" he feels when we can see for ourselves a miserable Fiennes gulping whiskey and slamming his fist onto a table with rage...
...audience is overexposed to Bendrix, the opposite is true of Sarah. Even after a cumbersome transition section built around her voice-overs, the character is only hazily defined. Rather than attempting to tackle the book's complicated explanation of Sarah's take on her marriage and affair, Jordan chooses not to address the matter at all, leaving the viewer (and the woefully underutilized Moore) in the lurch...
...central relationship of the film is similarly troubled. Bendrix and Sarah assure each other (and the viewer) that their relationship is built around a profound love. But we barely even see them chat; the film's only way of investigating the seriousness of the relationship is via the physical act of love--and in this sense, The End of the Affair has love to spare. Rarely in an American film has sex been depicted with such frankness and frequency. Crotches are grabbed, hips are rhythmically thrust and even Ralph's pale, well-formed bottom makes an extended appearance. But something...
...screen that does not belong to one of the three main characters, and the bulk of the film was shot on just a few sets, adding to the sense of claustrophobia. The smallness of the movie goes beyond that, though--in what is intended to be a pivotal scene, Bendrix rushes out of his house to catch Sarah before she leaves town. But instead of sprinting down the streets in a romantic dash to his beloved, he just trots across a little patch of greenery in time to intercept her. It couldn't be more than 20 yards; Fiennes barely...
...eighth film with the director), turns in a heartfelt and understated performance as Henry. Rather than playing up to traditional jilted husband clichs, Rea imbues the character with a sad dignity that ends up far more affecting than the lovers' travails. As Parkis, the detective hired by Bendrix to follow Sarah, the enormously underrated British actor Ian Hart steals every scene he's in. His Parkis is bumbling and a bit obsequious, but somehow a pervasive pathos in the performance overwhelms the lesser comic effect...