Separate Lies

Oscar-winning ‘Gosford Park’ writer Julian Fellowes turns director with this very English tale of deceit and resignation. Wilkinson is the Master of the Universe-type solicitor whose comfy country life is upended by his mildly ditzy wife’s (Watson) involvement with a local bit of posh (Everett, not taking things too seriously and all the better for it). The plot suffers from occasional daftness and contrivance but there are some neat lines and the characterisation is enjoyably rounded – no simplistic goodie-baddie dynamics here.