But it's also short on action, violence and raunchy language. So American audiences might not flock to this latest film from director Neil Jordan. The End of the Affair has some of the most sublimely subtle dialogue in recent years. And director Jordan crafts a fine adaptation of the Graham Greene novel, brilliantly illuminating the themes of love and hate, belief and disbelief. It's the stuff of art, the stuff of life itself.
Love triangles are nothing new, of course.
But this one is presented so elegantly, so thoughtfully, that it's hard to resist. When Maurice and Sarah first meet, the courtship is wickedly sly. And only a few more minutes into the film, we are shown, through a flashback, the first sexual encounter between Maurice and Sarah on a sofa in her upstairs parlor. As she lets out a loud moan, he hears the door close below and realizes that Henry has come home. The devastating line is delivered almost in deadpan fashion, as if Sarah has come to accept her husband's aloofness without rancor.