THE EDGE (Twentieth-Century Fox) Directed by Lee Tamahori There's something irresistibly intriguing about the idea of a wilderness-survival story penned by playwright David Mamet ("Glengarry Glen Ross") and featuring the anything-but-rough-and-tumble Anthony Hopkins in the lead. The concept seems so far-fetched it leads "The Edge" some certifiable curiosity value right from the start. Add in the intensity of Mr. Actors' Studio himself, Alec Baldwin, and you know you must be in for a wild ride. Or perhaps not. The most startling thing about "The Edge" is how
traditional the whole thing seems. Bookwormish Hopkins and oily fashion-photographer Baldwin, stranded in the Canadian countryside after
a plane crash, confront a variety of dangers and --- in typical Mamet style --- have to get in touch with their inner manliness before they can return to civilization. A few scattered profanities, a couple of gory accidents and a subplot about suspected adultery are all that separates this story from the grade-school classic "My Side of the Mountain." Mamet's screenplay seems to have something it wants to say about the changing definitions of manhood, but his message never quite comes through as director Lee Tamahori keeps interrupting the story for regular visits from a cranky Kodiak who seems to get his kicks out of terrorizing our heroes. The bear attacks get progressively sillier and less believable until the inevitable final confrontation, a moment that requires an enormous suspension of disbelief. "The Edge" is on steadier ground dealing with its human characters: Although neither of them is particularly amiable, both have some unexpected dimensions, and Hopkins and Baldwin deliver nuanced performances. Another major plus is the movie's gorgeous photography which makes the wilds of Alberta look like a great place to get lost in.
James Sanford
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews