I went to see The Edge of Love last Thursday at Angelika Film Centre in Dallas. The movie deals with the relationship among Thomas Dylan, the celebrated Welsh poet, his wife and a lover-friend of his. Typical love triangle. But the director went berserk trying to use all available camera shots. The film is more an anthology of different styles of filming than a coherent story about an intense love relationship during WWII in London. In matter of an hour you get to see wide angles, soft angles, kaleidoscopic lenses swirling around, intense close-ups, off-focus, blurs, light outbursts, chiaroscuro techniques, low-angle shots (from below), you name it. They all come in rapid secession without adding anything to the movie. The two actresses, Kaira Knightly and Sienna Miller play the lover and the wife respectively. They do a good job. They are absorbed into their characters and give good straight performances. I expected the role of Thomas Dylan, played by Matthew Rhys, to be more prominent and to offer more insight into his inner demons so to speak. I would not call this film a failure, it is fairly well acted but it fails to rise to the occasion. The films wants to project an intense expressionistic view of love in times of war. The abrupt changes in different types of camera shots is too distracting. It has some redeeming shots though. My favorite is the opening scene where Kaira Knightly is singing a lush tropical ballad in the middle of a German bombardment in a London Underground station. All in all, I did not enjoy it very much. Of course, this is only my most humble opinion.
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6 comments:
I also find that kind of camera work annoying and distracting. I can even feel dizzy sometimes, especially when the camera pans round and round the main actors.
You've won an award! Go to The La Boheme Rag to pick it up.
Adorable and soulful blog you have here.
Gosh, Mr. Pink, you've won another award also from Oasis Writing Link...so many awards...so little space! Come over and pick it up, please. I completely agree with you about intrusive camera work. "Look at me", the camera seems to say. It can ruin a movie by upstaging the story. <3
Well, I kinda feel naked without an award to give you! But you know I like you, just the same. ;^)
Too bad the movie wasn't a hit. Sounds like it had potential, with the subject of Thomas Dylan. Darn.
PC
I so appreciate your blog.l I came here to see what is happening with you and could not decide where to look first! So many lovely presentations!
I think I would have responded much in the same way. It does matter to me when there are so many distractions althought I do appreciate expert camera work I totally enjoyed a 2003 Girl with a Pearl Earring because of the lovly photography which felt like a art form. Hope your job is OK
Linda
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