Sunday, December 5, 2010

The Edge of Love (2008)


I heard lukewarm reviews of the World War II romance, The Edge of Love. However, I adore Dylan Thomas and Cillian Murphy, and I shamefully girl-crush on Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller, so despite the reviews, I put it in my NetFlix queue. 


Yeah ...


As far as the story went, I did not get it. Poet Dylan Thomas (Matthew Rhys) meets up with an old singer friend/flame, Vera (Knightley), and the two begin a flirtation as Vera becomes friends with Thomas' "free-spirted" (a.k.a just silly) wife, Caitlin (Miller). At the same time, soldier William Kilick (Murphy) begins an affair with Vera, though she still clearly feels something for Thomas. It seems confusing, and honestly, I did not care enough to pay full attention. It seemed the characters told me over and over how they supposedly felt for each other, but I still failed to see it. I almost missed the film's most climatic scene, where Kilick storms Thomas' home with a gun, because I cared more about my wine and updating my Facebook page than this film. Then I looked up, and was like, "Oh. Gun. Shouting. Crying. Maybe I should pay attention." That lasted about thirty seconds. It did not help that Knightley's voice sounded awful, and her face looked funny when she sang. 


By the film's end, I missed the infamous friendship Vera and Caitlin developed, the flirtation, the scandal ... everything. One thing I appreciate, however, are the film's lush period costumes. April Ferry designed them, and thus created the only part of the film worth seeing.  As much as I find Miller more Jude Law's little tart than anything else, she looks fantastic in clothes. Now thanks to her I want to frolic across a beach in a full skirt, boots, and fedora. Knightley also look amazing. Like in Atonement, the period clothes suited her.

So, basically, if you have heard anything about this film, it's probably true. At least, that is how I saw it.

~F.

2 comments:

Shybiker said...

Thanks for the review. I'd heard similar things.

Toosdai said...

i have yet to see this movie, and i've heard so much about the costumes! i still might just look at the stills instead of watching the whole thing. thanks for your review!