John Maybury's "The Edge of Love" (2008)



The Edge of Love, what a beautiful title! It's not only love as a concept that binds couples, but all kinds of Love and Bonds that are formed between people. Every relationship is intense, and many admit to an unstoppable force, not necessarily sexual, connecting people...

Characters in this movie are driven by some superhuman force, their actions never explained by psychology, which makes the drama even more universal, more life-full, and more tragic. One can also claim that the movie always has a mind that evades drama.

The dialogues are some of most clever I heard in years, somehow resembling those of Howard Hawks, Joseph Mankiewicz, and their likes. What is clearly different is Maybury's own, personal sense of composition, aware camera movements, and his intense editing, leading to an emotion of tragedy as the rhythm progresses.

I remember really liking Love Is the Devil (another film about a "possessed" artist) when I saw it years ago, and parts of The Jacket I saw on television a few years back. Maybury needs to be taken very seriously.


Comments

Anonymous said…
Very, very seriously. Loveliest film I've seen in a long time. Uses film like a painter, without losing focus on his characters. Four great performances, absolutely spell-binding. Wonderful script and editing.
Yoel Meranda said…
hey anonymous, thanks for the comment... have you seen "the jacket"?

i agree there is something painterly about his camera-moves...

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