Figure 2.-- This is the film version of Graham Greene's famous novel, "The End of the Affair". The boy wears traditional schoolboy British clothing from the period before World War II and just afterwards--black shoes, flannel shorts, grey knee socks, school tie, and peaked cap.

This is the film version of Graham Greene's famous novel, "The End of the Affair" about adultery and Catholic guilt. A boy in this film set in the 1940s wears a peaked school cap. He also wears a gabardine school overcoat, grey short trousers, white shirt, red tie, and black shoes. The boy called Lancelott Parkes was working as a spy for his dad who was a private detective. They were spying on Julianne Moore's charactor. An Australian reader describes it as "finely scripted film". There are various scenes of the mysterious school boy. The stars are Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore (as the writer Bendrix and his lover, Sarah Miles). The boy wears traditional schoolboy British clothing from the period before World War II and just afterwards--black shoes, flannel shorts, grey knee socks, school tie, and peaked cap. He seems to be about 11 or 12 years old. Most of the action occurs in 1940. Much of the time we see him in a rain coat, because there is nearly constant rain in this film--part of the gloomy atmosphere deliberately intended by the director Neil Jordan. Throughout the film until the very end, the boy suffers from the disfigurement of a birth mark on the left side of his face. At the end, the birthmark miraculously disappears, a happening that is not explained but that contributes to the religious (Rocman Catholic) theme of the story. The film came out in 1999, but did not have a huge success in the U.S. though it was acclaimed in Britain.

Filmology

This is the film version of Graham Greene's famous novel, "The End of the Affair" about adultery and Catholic guilt.

Cast

The stars are Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore (as the writer Bendrix and his lover, Sarah Miles). Ralph Feinnes first big role was in "Schindler's List". He's a fine actor and I recently saw a report of him on television showing the work he does for UNICEF. What a contrast to the character of Amon Goeth that he played in "Schindler's List".

Plot

The boy called Lancelott Parkes was working as a spy for his dad who was a private detective. They were spying on Julianne Moore's charactor. Throughout the film until the very end, the boy suffers from the disfigurement of a birth mark on the left side of his face. At the end, the birthmark miraculously disappears, a happening that is not explained but that contributes to the religious (Rocman Catholic) theme of the story.

Costuming

There are various scenes of the mysterious school boy. The boy in this film set in the 1940s wears a peaked school cap. He also wears a gabardine school overcoat, grey short trousers, white shirt, red tie, and black shoes. The boy wears traditional schoolboy British clothing from the period before World War II and just afterwards--black shoes, flannel shorts, grey knee socks, school tie, and peaked cap. He seems to be about 11 or 12 years old. Most of the action occurs in 1940. Much of the time we see him in a rain coat, because there is nearly constant rain in this film--part of the gloomy atmosphere deliberately intended by the director Neil Jordan.

Assessment

The film came out in 1999, but did not have a huge success in the U.S. though it was acclaimed in Britain.

Reader Comments

An Australian reader describes it as "finely scripted film".

A British reader writes, "Having seen the review of this film on HBC I went and got the video from my local library. I thought it would be very much like a fine British film called "Brief Encounter" which was made in 1945 and starred Trevor Howard and Ceilia Johnson. It seemed very promising at the start, but I was immediately put off by the graphic sex scenes that this film portrayed. I watched about 30 mins of the film and that was all I could take of it. I don't like seeing scenes like this and I don't think there's any need for it, this is why I admired the late Charles Bronson and his wife Jill Ireland who refused to perform such scenes in their films. I was taken aback at the sight of Lancelot Parkes' birthmark, which was a cosmetic affair for the film. However, although the film was set in the 1940s, I find it very implausible that such a boy would be placed in situations that we find him in as a spy for his private detective father. Furthermore, what parent in their right mind would place their son in what could potentially be a dangerous situatuion? Especially when he enter's the home of Julianne Moore for example. Even in the 1940s, I'm sure that if the authorities ever heard of what this boy was doing, they would take a very dim view of it."

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Created: November 12, 2003
Last updated: November 12, 2003