Imagine war-ravaged London at the height of World War II. The End of the Affair begins there in 1939, a year in which one devastating bombing attack changes the lives of two adulterous lovers forever. Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient) and Julianne Moore (An Ideal Husband) co-star in this second film version of Graham Greene’s famous story about love, jealousy, and betrayal.

Why did director Neil Jordan (The Crying Game) decide to re-make this movie? At the film’s press junket, he explained, "I had read all of Greene as a teenager, and returned to this book about five years ago. I was surprised, even shocked by its freshness and eroticism, its power to move and shock, even forty years after it was written. More particularly, I saw in the center of it the possibility of a film that would examine the same series of events from different points of view."

The Irish filmmaker claims that author Greene is great at moral dilemmas. According to Jordan, who also wrote his own screenplay, the themes of End of the Affair are universal. "This film is about the question of how far love goes between people. If somebody says, I will love you forever, do you know how far they will carry that promise through?"

Jordan admits he did not see the 1955 film starring Van Johnson and Deborah Kerr until just before shooting his own movie. He declares that version had very little to say to him. And I feel the same about his version.

Because of the tumultuous love affair at the film’s core, casting the right two actors in lead roles could have assured the movie’s success. Instead, Jordan chose Fiennes and Moore --- a couple with less chemistry together on screen than David Spade and Sophie Marceau in Lost and Found. Fiennes, as a novelist whose lover appears to reject him, seems more like a sleepwalker than an incurable romantic. Moore just looks sad most of the time, even in those much-touted sex scenes. Fortunately, Stephen Rea (Guinevere) does manage to deliver a satisfactory performance as Moore’s dull husband, but this is a rather unchallenging role for someone of his stature.

Combining adultery with religion and miracles adds to the questionable nature of The End of the Affair. Still, a refreshing theme of compassion emerges at the end of the film. I welcomed it after enduring such dreary material for over two hours.

(Released by Columbia Pictures and rated "R" for scenes of strong sexuality.)