SOME NICE SURPRISES IN JORDAN'S `AFFAIR'.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

Early on in ``The End of the Affair,'' Sarah Miles (Julianne Moore) and her lover, Maurice Bendrix (Ralph Fiennes), are fumbling to complete an act of carnal pleasure. They are upstairs in her home when her husband, Henry (Stephen Rea), calls up to them.

``Do you think he heard us?'' Maurice, an urbane novelist, asks breathlessly.

Sarah, who is suffocating in her marriage to her staid civil-service husband, deadpans, ``Don't worry. He wouldn't recognize the sound.''

The humor is unexpected, but then much of the film by Neil Jordan (``The Crying Game,'' ``Michael Collins''), which is based on a novel by Graham Greene, is unexpected. That's what makes an ordinary tale (and what's more ordinary than the end of an affair?) more than a mere autopsy.

The line is telling in another way. The three characters are afflicted by a form of bipolarity. Faith and love pull them in different directions until they have lost their orientation and no longer recognize what is in front of them.

Set in the 1940s, mostly during the war years, the story has all the ingredients of noirish melodrama. ``This is a diary of hate,'' Maurice types as the film begins.

It is 1949 and the angry writer is looking for an explanation as he ruminates over his affair with Sarah, which began in 1939 after he met her at a party thrown by her husband, and which suddenly and seemingly inexplicably ended in 1944.

Their break occurs during the Blitz, after a bomb hits Bendrix's house while the two are together. He is severely injured when the blast throws him down a stairwell. Believing he is dead, Sarah flees back to the bedroom to pray. When Maurice recovers, the shaken Sarah leaves quickly, refusing to see him again.

Two years later, Maurice runs into a depressed Henry, who is still ignorant of his wife's infidelity and confesses to Maurice that he believes his wife is having an affair. Consumed by his own jealousy and selfishness, Maurice hires a detective, Parkis (Ian Hart), and his apprentice son, Lance (Samuel Bould), to follow Sarah, hoping he'll find out who she has left him for.

What follows is a complex unraveling of a mystery, at the center of which is a metaphysical secret and a spiritual dilemma.

``The End of the Affair'' is like a jigsaw puzzle. Jordan uses multiple voices and perspectives to tell the story. Maurice recounts his version while the detective issues his report on the same scene, or passages of Sarah's diary (after it is pinched) are read, completing the picture of the affair while at the same time illuminating the characters' blind spots.

When Maurice finally confronts Sarah, he finds that what he has imagined is so narrow compared to the truth.

Fans of the novel are likely to complain about the liberties Jordan takes with Greene's work (he has added scenes and deleted characters), but film works on its own small terms while exploring larger questions.

Indeed, the beautifully photographed, dimly lit scenes convey both a sense of mystery and confinement.

The characters are trapped by their own darkness, and the two scenes framed in light - the afternoon tryst during the bombing and the lovers' trip to Brighton beach - introduce stark realities.

The film also benefits from terrific performance by the entire cast. Feinnes smolders under his stiff British demeanor, with his gestures and glances more telling than his proper attitude.

Moore, with a believable English accent, subtly evokes the emotional turmoil of her character and proves once again that she is one of America's best actresses.

And Rea, playing the cuckold husband, adds interesting nuances to what could be a stereotypical character.

But ultimately, Jordan's storytelling abilities must be credited with keeping this delicately balanced tale aloft - right to its surprising end.

The facts

The film: ``The End of the Affair'' (R; scenes of strong sexuality).

The stars: Julianne Moore, Ralph Fiennes, Stephen Rea and Ian Hart.

Behind the scenes: Written and directed by Neil Jordan, based on the novel by Graham Greene. Produced by Stephen Woolley and Neil Jordan. Released by Columbia Pictures

Running time: One hour, 49 minutes.

Playing: Cineplex Odeon in Century City and Mann Criterion 6 in Santa Monica.

Our rating: Three stars.

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Photo

Photo: Ralph Fiennes, left, plays the lover and Stephen Rea the estranged husband in Neil Jordan's ``The End of the Affair.''