I don't recall having seen this movie advertised in theaters or publicized much, and that really should have been a clue that it wasn't for me. Also, I'm not a big fan of Kiera Knightly (though she's becoming a better actress, slowly) and don't like Sienna Miller at all. The reason I saw it is because of the guys: Cillian Murphy and Matthew Rhys (from Brothers & Sisters). Rhys plays poet Dylan Thomas and is married to Miller, but lost his virginity to Knightly back in Wales. They're all in London now trying to survive the Blitz, and Knightly meets soldier-boy Murphy and they "fall in love and get married". That's in quotes because it's what is supposed to happen, but Knightly's only marrying him to spite Rhys whom she can't have. There's lots of drama. Rhys has been put to work, because he's a poet, making propaganda films for the military. He hates his job and makes it clear to everyone around him that it's beneath his talent (which hasn't really become too famous yet). Miller is a nut-job crazy woman who is jealous and mean but then totally loving, and cheats with other men. Since Rhys is in love with Knightly anyway, he doesn't much care that his wife is skanky. However, once Knightly gets pregnant (on her wedding night) she returns with the crazy Thomases to Wales. They wait out the war barely scrapping by, but Miller is making money off being skanky now, and since everyone gets to eat no one pays attention. We see glimpses of the atrocities Murphy is going through, that make him crazy when he gets home. Lots more fighting ensues, with some crazy violence, but all ends fine as we know it must because Dylan Thomas is a famous poet. Apparently the war gave him lots of things to write about later. The movie is not good. All except Murphy are supposed to have Welsh accents, and only Rhys (because he actually is Welsh by birth) can carry it off. Knightly can't about 80% of the time, you totally forget she's supposed to be a childhood friend of Rhys because she has a British accent and he doesn't. And Miller brings in her odd American twang from time to time, but she does a better job maintaining the Welsh. The acting is fine, but the script really just goes in circles of odd love pairings to the point where you're sure the writers just wanted Knightly and Miller to get it on. Not worth your time. If you're surfing the Netflix Watch Instantly, check out Botany of Desire instead and you'll have a more pleasant 90 minutes. 2 of 5 stars/lambs
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
The Edge of Love: Review
I don't recall having seen this movie advertised in theaters or publicized much, and that really should have been a clue that it wasn't for me. Also, I'm not a big fan of Kiera Knightly (though she's becoming a better actress, slowly) and don't like Sienna Miller at all. The reason I saw it is because of the guys: Cillian Murphy and Matthew Rhys (from Brothers & Sisters). Rhys plays poet Dylan Thomas and is married to Miller, but lost his virginity to Knightly back in Wales. They're all in London now trying to survive the Blitz, and Knightly meets soldier-boy Murphy and they "fall in love and get married". That's in quotes because it's what is supposed to happen, but Knightly's only marrying him to spite Rhys whom she can't have. There's lots of drama. Rhys has been put to work, because he's a poet, making propaganda films for the military. He hates his job and makes it clear to everyone around him that it's beneath his talent (which hasn't really become too famous yet). Miller is a nut-job crazy woman who is jealous and mean but then totally loving, and cheats with other men. Since Rhys is in love with Knightly anyway, he doesn't much care that his wife is skanky. However, once Knightly gets pregnant (on her wedding night) she returns with the crazy Thomases to Wales. They wait out the war barely scrapping by, but Miller is making money off being skanky now, and since everyone gets to eat no one pays attention. We see glimpses of the atrocities Murphy is going through, that make him crazy when he gets home. Lots more fighting ensues, with some crazy violence, but all ends fine as we know it must because Dylan Thomas is a famous poet. Apparently the war gave him lots of things to write about later. The movie is not good. All except Murphy are supposed to have Welsh accents, and only Rhys (because he actually is Welsh by birth) can carry it off. Knightly can't about 80% of the time, you totally forget she's supposed to be a childhood friend of Rhys because she has a British accent and he doesn't. And Miller brings in her odd American twang from time to time, but she does a better job maintaining the Welsh. The acting is fine, but the script really just goes in circles of odd love pairings to the point where you're sure the writers just wanted Knightly and Miller to get it on. Not worth your time. If you're surfing the Netflix Watch Instantly, check out Botany of Desire instead and you'll have a more pleasant 90 minutes. 2 of 5 stars/lambs
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I didn't dislike it quite as much as you, but it's only been a few weeks ago and I've already forgotten 90% of it. You're totally right about the accent thing: it was quite irritating and took me right out of the story. Though I don't think Miller's character was Welsh, b/c she made a comment to Murphy's character about the other two having a Welsh bond no one could ever come between.
The best thing about the film is it reminded me how much I adore Cillian Murphy and it's a shame so few of his films get a release here in the states. He has 3 others on Watch Instantly that I hope to watch this weekend and review next week. And he's got one coming out on dvd later this month where he plays a seemingly average guy who has Ellen Page held hostage in his house (called Peacock). So I'm looking foward to that one as well.
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