This is a wonderful film that will keep the viewer totally absorbed. Written by the tremendously talented David Mamet (The House of Games, Oleanna), it is beautifully directed by the noted director Lee Tamahori (Once Were Warriors, Along Came a Spider). The film is a complex, fully fleshed story covering many themes, fully realized by a stellar cast. It also provides the viewer with breathtaking cinematography, as well as a compelling score written by Academy Award winner Jerry Goldsmith (The Omen).The film focuses an a mild mannered, self-effacing, slightly paranoid billionaire, Charles Morse (Anthony Hopkins). A brilliant and well-read man with a penchant for esoteric knowledge, Morse is married to Mickey (Elle MacPherson), a young and beautiful, successful model. On location with her in a remote area of Alaska, she is surrounded by her young, fun loving camera crew, while he is seemingly the odd man out. He is astute enough, however, to sense that there are romantic undercurrents between his wife and her photographer, Robert Green (Alec Baldwin).
When Morse accompanies Robert on what was to be a short excursion into the Alaskan wilderness, looking for a local hunter to pose in the photo shoot, disaster looms ahead, and the test for the survival of the fittest begins. It is here that the superior mind and knowledge of Morse is put to the test, as they find themselves pitted against nature. Morse rises to the occasion, emerging as a natural leader, while his younger, fitter rival, Robert, is often at a loss as to how to cope in their peculiar situation. It is also through the emerging and changing conditions that they face, that their respective characters emerge. It is in the wilderness that they are both unmasked and emerge as their true selves.
This is a film that will keep the viewer enthralled. Anthony Hopkins has never been better as the quietly heroic Morse, and Alec Baldwin is excellent as the craven and duplicitous photographer who has cuckolded him. Elle MacPherson is luminous as the beautiful, young, trophy wife. The rest of the supporting cast, including the giant Kodiac bear, are also terrific. This is a superlative survival story that has something for everyone. Bravo!
Billionaire intellectual, mildly paranoid Hopkins accompanies his trophy wife played by super model Elle MacPherson to a photo shoot in the Alaskan wilderness. The always faintly menacing Alec Baldwin is a trendy, sophisticated fashion photographer who has more than a passing interest in Ms. MacPherson. Hopkins reluctantly agrees to accompany Baldwin on a search for an elusive native trapper who Baldwin thinks will be an ideal photo subject. The plane goes down (in a jarringly effective scene). Three survive, but on their first night the weakest of their party is horrifyingly mauled and taken away by a giant Kodiak bear. Baldwin and Hopkins must make their way out of the wilderness with the terrifying knowledge that the bear is stalking them. Hopkins is a wonderfully effective survivor and Baldwin shows a toughness and perseverance that belies his sophisticated image. Will the bear triumph? Will they get out alive? Are Baldwin and Hopkins ultimately partners or deadly adversaries?
Thanks to David Mamet, the screenplay has depth and is probably full of deeper meanings that whizzed right by me. Lee Tamahori's fine direction lifted the film from a merely grand adventure saga to an absorbing study of two men and their inner beings. The script or the interactions never bored me. There is one fine scene setup that alone was worth the price of admission to me. Hopkins and Baldwin are peering over a fallen log desperately trying to ascertain the location of the bear. Only their upper faces are showing. Hopkins china blue eyes display enormous depth and intelligence while Baldwin's icy blues convey complete kill or be killed intensity. I think reviewers have been unjust to Ms. MacPherson's contribution. I believe she delivered just what she was supposed to: a beauty who was graceful, charming and perhaps a little shallow.
This film is about as perfect as it can be. The only flaw is a very disappointing DVD with no extras. Hopefully, another edition will come out. Anthony Hopkins is always marvelously articulate about his roles; it would be a treat to hear a few words from him. Outtakes on Big Bart's scenes would be priceless. I advise waiting for new edition before purchasing the DVD, but by all means, rent this one! In spite of its totally unimaginative title, it is one of the great films of the decade.
-sweetmolly-Amazon ReviewerThe Edge is a very much underrated film that sadly did not get the proper recognition it deserves, for it is an above average multi-layered movie that works very well on many levels, all equally well written and directed.
New Zealander Lee Tamahori, with the excellent Once We Were Warriors to his name,and writer David Mamet manage to make a movie that offers much more than its genre might suggests, both on the drama and thriller levels.
First there is the breathtaking Alaskan wilderness, spaces so vast they are equally inviting and menacing.A Napoleon general, lamenting the disaster that befell the French army once said: 'The vasteness of Russia devours us'. In the Edge you will too get the impression that the beauty of this untamed nature can also devour: break the bodies and souls of our heroes, Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin, both offering their most underrated acting best.
Three men are lost in the middle of a wilderness after their plane crash.The hope for an early return/rescue is dashed by the misleading spaces and a huge and determined Kodiak bear.One man, played by Harry Perrineau gets to know first hand about this determination,leaving Hopkins and Baldwin, bewildered, and weary,to try and escape with their lives.
This is when the film really starts. It becomes a journey of incredible hardship that will strip both men of their 'social' selves and replace it with the need to survive that will take them to the 'Edge' of endurance on one hand, and the depths of their own souls on the other. The animosities, tension and grudges that laid hidden between the two men emerge as a powerful and consistent force that mark their relationship from then on.
David Mamet has managed to write the 'Edge' that any human being can face whether lost in an unforgiving wilderness or anywhere else for that matter.It is simply how human beings change,and how social niceties is slowly eroded when the need to survive becomes the single driving force. This is a fine piece of writing!
Of course there is the thriller angle in the film..the bear, the master and primary predator of its environment,chasing two men that have been stripped from all the power and control they once possessed and taken for granted.
The direction and cinematography of these scenes are of top quality.
So if you want to watch gorgeous scenery, be scared of this huge and beautiful animal,or witness the changes incredible circumstances that trigger in men, then the Edge is the film for you eyes and mind, a journey that can easily be revisited in the safety of your own home.
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As character portraits go, this movie is a tour de force. The plot may be predictable, but the character drawn by Anthony Hopkins is masterful. A likeable, if self-effacing, intellectual in the beginning of the movie, Hopkins finds himself and learns that his true riches reside within himself. We see his bravado grow into genuine confidence as he comes to recognize that his resourcefulness really is unique. Shedding unnecessary layers of his life along the way, Hopkins walks out of the wilderness of Alaska and the wilderness of his self. He emerges as a transformed version of himself, having added wisdom to knowledge and courage to assurance while retaining the basic decency that characterized him from the beginning.Alex Baldwin's portrait of Robert, the photographer, is equally competent. It is not possible to admire his character, but one must applaud his portrayal.
The supporting roles are at least adequate, and in some cases, more than adequate, but the real standouts are Hopkins, Baldwin, and the wonderful wilderness scenery.
This review would not be complete without naming a favorite scene in the film: near the end, Hopkins disembarks from the rescue helicopter and receives recognition and acknowledgement from two backwoodmen in the form of a subtle nod. Very nice!
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When famed writer David Mamet turns his attention to the fascinating subject of man's nature and his struggle to survive in the wilderness, the likelihood is that a fascinating movie will result. And with this depiction of a small group of men, including a reclusive and introspective fifty-something tycoon (Sir Anthony Hopkins), a shifty and conniving fashion photographer (Alec Baldwin), Mamet sets the stage for a mammoth struggle for the survival of the fittest as he pits the men against both a wily Kodiak bear as well as against each other. The other members of the stranded party is killed by the bear in quick fashion, leaving only Hopkins and Baldwin try to improvise some way to figure out how to get back to civilization and outrun this bear with an appetite for humans.There are a number of subplots running through the action sequences, and a number of plot twists that serve to illustrate that it isn't necessarily the strongest that survive so much as it is the smartest and most adaptable of the antagonists. Yet this is not merely a testosterone-enriched script, for there are a number of elements in the story that lend themselves to viewing the characters (including the bear) with compassion and understanding of the complex ways in which the way we behave both actively and indirectly influences our chances at surviving.
In the midst of all this action and plot activity remains the singular beauty of the landscape, and in all their travails the characters are consistently outshadowed by the sheer scope of the topography, climate and setting of the great Alaskan wilderness. It is almost as if the director is suggesting we get ourselves sand our petty personal concerns in context and perspective, and seen against the shadow of the great outdoors, their troubles seem much smaller and more manageable indeed. This is a great movie, a film with a great story, interesting dialogue, and a terrific ensemble of actors supporting the thrust of the tale. Enjoy!
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