The End of the Affair (1999)

Neil Jordan’s adaptation of Graham Greene’s classic 1951 novel, which had previously been adapted by Edward Dmytryk in 1955, is by far the better of the two films. It’s rare that this is the case with remakes, but if anyone could fashion a satisfying film from this material it was Neil Jordan. 

During World War II, writer Maurice Bendrix (Ralph Fiennes) falls in love with Sarah Miles (Julianne Moore), the wife of a civil servant (Stephen Rea). But other forces keep the couple apart. Whereas the 1955 film is awkward and improbable, this remake comes alive as a psychological drama because the characters are three-dimensional and sympathetic. You can really believe that Sarah and Maurice love each other because the acting is so strong. 

There’s also an excellent performance by Ian Hart as the detective assigned to follow Sarah’s activities. 

Graham Greene’s somewhat overwrought handling of Catholic themes is softened here so that the character motivations become credible.

The End of the Affair (1955)

Adaptation of Graham Greene’s classic 1951 novel. During World War II, writer Maurice Bendrix (Van Johnson) goes to the party of London civil servant Henry Miles (Peter Cushing) and soon after begins an affair with his wife Sarah (Deborah Kerr). But when Bendrix is injured in a bombing, Sarah mysteriously removes herself from his life. 

This clever melodrama toys with becoming a noirish, Hitchcockian thriller – there’s an endearingly silly detective played by John Mills – but is really a film about religious faith and morality. 

A few things stand out as odd:

• The couple seem to go from meeting to being obsessively in love in no time at all, and yet there’s no real chemistry between them. What do they have in common? It’s as if a scene or two is missing, as their apparent attraction is never explained.
• When Bendrix first sees Sarah, she’s kissing another man. Who is he and why is this additional affair not explored further? Was it simply there to indicate that she was unhappily married?
• If Bendrix is American, why is he writing a book about the English civil service?

It was remade in 1999, with Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore in the lead roles.