Based on the novel by Graham Greene, this romantic drama stars Ralph Fiennes as Maurice Bendrix, a novelist who, during World War II, had an affair with Sarah Miles (Julianne Moore), the wife of his best friend Henry (Stephen Rea). Sarah abruptly broke off the romance in 1944, but two years later, after Maurice runs into Henry, he becomes obsessed with the affair and hires a man to investigate Sarah. He reads her diary of their forbidden romance in the midst of the London Blitz and discovers that, overwhelmed with fear and guilt, she pledged to God that she would end the affair if Maurice's life were spared. Maurice is determined to reintroduce himself into Sarah's life, but she fears that being near him would be too great a temptation. The End of the Affair was previously brought to the screen in 1955 by Edward Dmytryk; this version was written for the screen and directed by Academy Award-winner Neil Jordan.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide