The End of the Affair
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: December 3, 1999 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
10
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
63
Boston GlobeJay Carr
The immaculately crafted film that just sits there and refuses to come to life. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
If the movie were not so downbeat and its literary pedigree so distinguished, the resolution would be soap opera. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Few recent movie romances have a more chilling and peculiar feel -- and a more sobering aftertaste -- than Neil Jordan's heart-rendingly cold adaptation of Affair.
83
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Splendid acting helps Jordan achieve most of his goals, although some may find the romantic and religious elements an uneasy mixture. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The affair itself, in its genteel way, does catch fire, but it's the end of the affair that needs to move us to rapture, and the movie, instead, just drifts away. Read full review
80
Film.comRobert Horton
It's swell when a film really does capture a book in some exactitude. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyManohla Dargis
Watching this well-behaved adaptation of one of Greene's most personal novels, you can't help but wish that the novelist had been around to write his own script. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Has everything a period romance should have, including a score by Michael Nyman and passionate performances by stars Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore. Read full review
88
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Without a hint of sanctimony, it is a love story as much about soul as heart.
94
Mr. ShowbizRichard T. Jameson
Rereading Greene's book, one is struck anew by the absolute perfection of the film's casting.
63
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Many of the right elements -- the '40s look, the melodrama, the love that transcends reason. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Rather prosy until its final third. Then it grabs you with unexpected force.
91
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
A gripping account of grown-up sensuality, obsession, loss and hope.
80
SalonMichael Sragow
I'd put The End of the Affair just beneath the top rung of Jordan movies or Greene-based films (it's no "The Fallen Idol" or "The Third Man"), with Moore the critical element that makes it necessary viewing. Read full review
75
San Francisco ExaminerWesley Morris
The End of the Affair's masterfully heartbroken final scene is scarier in its nightmarishly wry suggestion of ill fate than anything that ever happened on Elm Street.
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
An engaging but essentially routine tragic romance. Read full review
70
SlateDavid Edelstein
A religious conspiracy disguised as a romance. Read full review
80
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
When it comes to holiday films worth swooning over, here's the one to see. Read full review
80
TNT RoughCutChristopher Brandon
Moore and Fiennes both give impassioned, sexy performances.
70
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Rests on three excellent performances, of which the most difficult is Stephen Rea's. Read full review
90
VarietyEmanuel Levy
A faithful adaptation that captures the haunting spirit and religious nature of the 1951 novel. Read full review
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