THE EDGE
RATING: 7.5 / 10 --> Re-watchable
Review date:
March 22, 1998
Producer:
Art
Linson
Genre:
Suspense/Adventure
Year of
Release:
1997
Directed by Lee Tamahori (Mullholland Falls)
Written by David Mamet (The Spanish Prisoner)
Starring Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs), Alec Baldwin (The Juror), Elle MacPherson (If Lucy Fell), Harold Perrineau Jr. ("Oz")
THE EDGE is a film that doesn't appear to be anything more than anything, but I will shamelessly admit that I thoroughly enjoyed this movie from start to finish. This is Lee Tamahori's best film since the great ONCE WERE WARRIORS (8/10) back in 1994, and another original script by David Mamet of GLENGARRY GLENROSS (8/10) fame. It's a great survivalist picture, with good characters and some built-up suspense.
PLOT:
Charles is married to a beautiful young model named Mickey (Elle
McPherson stretching her acting abilities by portraying a
model?). Robert Green is the photographer shooting some pics of
the young damsel, while Charles suspects some foul play between
the two young beauties. Charles, Robert and his assistant
Stephen, eventually decide to wander into the woods in search of
someone, get into an accident, and must find their way back from
the middle of nowhere.
CRITIQUE:
I liked this movie because it never left me bored for a second. I
got into the characters within the first few minutes (kudos to
the actors), and didn't stop until the end credits. The movie
really takes off after they get stuck in the woods together, and
reaches its pinnacle of suspense when they are confronted by Bart
the Bear. I never thought that a bear would ever actually scare
me, but the one in this movie scared the beejezus out of me.
On the down side, I thought the movie could've been cut by a few minutes, and the McGyver impression that Mr. Charles Morse wore throughout the film, did begin to lack credibility at times. All in all, this film is racked with some great scenes, good characters, easy pacing, and genuine suspense.
Little Known Facts:
Alec Baldwin's full name is Alexander Rae III Baldwin. He is
married to actress Kim Basinger, with whom he has a child named
Ireland.
The movie's original title was BOOKWORM. It was entirely shot in
British-Columbia.
In GLENGARRY GLENROSS, the word "fuck" and its
derivatives were uttered 137 times, while the word
"shit" and its derivatives were uttered 50 times.
© 1998 Berge Garabedian
http://surf.to/joblo
Movie Reviews by Berge Garabedian
Movie Reviews starting with "E"
James Brundage's Review of The Edge
Related Reviews:
Anthony Hopkins:
Sridhar Prasad's Review of Amistad
Kimberly Swank's Review of The Silence of the Lambs