In the bohemian underground of World War II London, a stirring love story ignites among legendary poet Dylan Thomas (Matthew Rhys, TV’s Brothers and Sisters) and the two extraordinary women who inspire him. Sienna Miller (Casanova) is Caitlin, Thomas’ free-spirited wife, while Keira Knightley (Atonement) is Vera, the long-lost teenage sweetheart who later reconnects with Thomas. Despite their romantic rivalry, the two women form a surprisingly close bond. The trio is unusually blissful until Vera’s husband, a handsome soldier (Cillian Murphy, Girl with a Pearl Earring), sends their uninhibited lives spiraling out of control.
Stills from The Edge of Love (Click for larger image)
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Stylish and strangely remote, The Edge of Love salutes two women who made a significant impact on poet Dylan Thomas in the 1940s. Married to restless Irish lass Caitlin (Sienna Miller), who favors revealing outfits, Dylan (Welsh actor Matthew Rhys, Brothers and Sisters) still pines for his childhood sweetheart, torch singer Vera Phillips (Keira Knightley, who does her own singing and does it well). Vera feels the same, but as Dylan isn’t available she accepts a proposal from Captain William Killick (Cillian Murphy), a persistent British suitor. To Dylan, Vera is heavenly and Caitlin is earthly–and he can’t see living without either one (the Thomases have an open marriage). While William is stationed in Greece, the trio, plus two children, share neighboring cottages in Wales, live off William’s paychecks, and smoke every cigarette they can find, but when William returns, penniless and depressed, things start to fall apart. An act of violence, followed by a cruel betrayal, puts an end to their idyll for good. Since the 1990s, the poet-during-wartime picture has become a genre unto itself, and John Maybury’s third feature bears comparison with Regeneration and Pandaemonium, while also serving as a literary companion to Love Is the Devil, Maybury’s feverish portrait of painter Francis Bacon (Knightley’s mother, Sharman Macdonald, wrote the script). If Sienna’s Irish accent is barely detectable, the same goes for Keira’s Welsh warble, but the women otherwise form a believable bond–even if the men pale in comparison. –Kathleen C. Fennessy
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December 30, 2010
#1
An incredible film, a beautiful Blu,
The product description actually hits every aspect of what this film is about, so that left performances and product quality for me. From the opening scene of Kiera Knightley singing (BEAUTIFULLY in her own voice and with the first of many facial close-ups) I was hooked.
The picture clarity and DTS were the best I have seen and heard for a movie of this theme/topic. Everything about the techinical aspects of the film was superb. I kept trying to find fault, even with the night shots and the dark almost black and white London sequences, but nothing would falter. The DTS was mixed perfectly throughout, even in the rain sequences and the remote bombings. Which, if you have your system cranked up thinking this is a dialogue film only, at around 16:20 you will end up blown over backwards, and that happens several times.
The main featurette is also 1080 and lasts nine minutes. It is mostly footage from the film as narrated by the main cast and director (except Cillian). Once you see the humor involved in the background of the film it can prep you for the outtakes. I thought this option would be misplaced for as serious as this film is, but after watching the four minute quip (mixed as a music video almost) it was actually perfect. It showed the disgust of everyone having to chain smoke through the whole film. And Kiera with as beautiful as she is here in every moment of film, is captured saying the F word in only the way she can.
I feel comfortable in saying no one should find disappointment in any aspect of this production, story, poetry, Blu quality, sound mix, or even the brief special features. I have played several sequences of Kiera singing for customers, and the Blu clarity has sold itself on those scenes alone.
EDIT: I have noticed there are a slew of haters out there with this film that try to find everything wrong with it. Kiera’s mother wrote this piece and I think she made it believable being that these characters are based on a “bohemian” lifestyle. Kiera’s singing sounded wonderful, contrary to some critics thinking it stunk. In summary, I do not think this film deserves all of the slander. Hope you enjoy it.
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|December 30, 2010
#2
Worth seeing,
I found this film particularly interesting for a number of reasons. Firstly, the representation of Dylan Thomas’ work life seems to be fairly accurate, whilst the the parts about his love life (the core of the film) seem highly fictionalised. Then there’s the casting. Cillian Murphy (Irish playing English), Sienna Miller (English, to all intents, playing Irish), Kiera Knightley (English playing Welsh, beautifully), and Matthew Rhys (Welsh playing… Dylan Thomas!). Oh, and look sharp for Suggs from Madness as a nightclub crooner.
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|December 30, 2010
#3
Graphic Novel Style- Slick WWII Period Drama Romance,
Stylish is its stock in trade. Slicker than usual and done well as a visual and aural feast with a graphic look that comes close to Frank Miller films. And while I’m mentioning names; Dennis Potter, Ken Russsell and David Lean, all came to mind when watching this film. It’s not perfect but it’s perfectly entertaining. Blu-ray is out of sight, sounds are subtle between powerful moments, like songs or explosions and discussions. This is something else. You will have a new show off item. I replayed it immediately.
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