THE EDGE (R)
Directed by Lee Tamahori Running Time: 117 minutes Originally Released: September 26, 1997
Reviewed by E. Benjamin Kelsey
* * (out of four)
Tell me if this doesn't sound wonderful to you: You're a billionaire and despite your age, you have a young, gorgeous model for your wife. When it comes time for a photo shoot, you accompany your lovely bride, on your own private plane mind you, to a beautiful, forest clad region complete with a lake, snow capped mountains, and a cozy little cabin to sleep in. Paradisiacal, eh? Oh, I just forgot to mention one thing . . . during an excursion, your plane goes down and you're stuck fighting for your life in the middle of the woods. Ok, not so great after all.
This is the plot for THE EDGE, an adventure/thriller written by David Mamet and directed by Lee Tamahori. The billionaire is Charles Morse, played like a perfect blend of Daddy Warbucks, MacGyver, and Grizzly Adams. The beautiful wife is Mickey, played by Elle MacPherson in an essentially non-existent role. In fact, the real purpose behind the character of Mickey is to allow for a conflict between Morse and Robert Green (Alec Baldwin), Mickey's photographer who just happens to go down along with Charles and the plane. Just before the plane flies into a flock of migrating birds and crashes into the water below, Charles confronts "Bob" about his true feelings for Mickey. In fact, the aerial collision is cued with Charles asking Bob, "How do you plan to kill me?"
The pilot dies and Charles, Bob, and Bob's assistant Stephen (Harold Perrineau Jr.) are left to fend for themselves in a cold, aboriginal climate. Through all this, Charles manages to keep his calm, which is more of an aggravation than a comfort to Bob and Stephen. Nonetheless, they trust in Charles' seemingly omnipotent understanding of life, nature, and the outdoors and follow him thru the maze of trees in an attempt to rescue themselves (all the while continuously confronting an overly persistent bear).
Reading a summary of THE EDGE would surely make one want to see the film. It *sounds* rich, intriguing, exciting, and suspenseful. But with shotty direction and dialogue that trudges along like dead weight, you're expectations will quickly be dashed. In fact, if you have any sense, you might just walk out of the theater within the first twenty minutes of the show - it's that bad. Thankfully, if you do stick it out, it manages to pick up into a semi-mediocre film after about thirty or so anaesthetic minutes.
The actors can't quite be blamed here. Although the characters are pretty deadpan (special notice going to the trite, uneven Bob Green role), the director seems more at fault. Tamahori doesn't seem to know where to take this and winds up with only sporadic moments of intensity. Keep in mind, however, that the musical score by Jerry Goldsmith wants you to feel that adrenaline kick over the slightest things. It gets very tiring.
The only saving grace THE EDGE has to offer are some spectacular shots of Canada, where it was filmed. There are some fabulous, breathtaking views of Mother Nature's handiwork, but sadly it doesn't make this film worth sitting through. If you still feel determined to see this one, please try to catch it on the big screen before it's "reformatted" to fit the little one. If you don't have the beautiful landscapes to appreciate in this movie, you'll have nothing at all.
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