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Enduring Love
Paramount // R // May 3, 2005
List Price: $29.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie
A few months ago, I saw a trailer for a movie that did exactly what a trailer should do; it made me want to watch the movie that it was advertising. It showed just enough to make the movie seem appealing and creepy enough that it would be a good way to spend a couple hours on the couch. That movie was Roger Mitchell's Enduring Love, and unfortunately the trailer pulled the ol' bait and switch, and by the end of the movie I was left feeling very disappointed and wanted my time back.
Enduring Love starts with Joe (Daniel Craig) and his girlfriend Claire (Samantha Morton) in a rolling field, settling in for a picnic on a nice summer day. Things quickly turn very bad when they see a hot air balloon skipping across the ground with a young boy and his grandfather trapped. Joe as well as many other onlookers (who just happened to appear in time) rush to the balloon to help. What follows is a short but very tense scene where something goes dramatically wrong and the balloon lifts into the air with people dangling from a rope, all but one of which lets go in time to have a safe landing on the ground below. Cut ahead a few days/weeks/months and we visit Joe and Claire discussing the incident with friends, trying to make sense of what happened and what could have been done differently to have a different outcome. As Joe continues to try and come to terms with what he's been a part of, a man appears who also was involved on that fateful day and he latches himself to Joe, with some sick obsession.
This other man, Jed played by Rhys Ifans, is obviously suffering from some sort of post-traumatic stress disorder, as he constantly appears with Joe and is also trying to make sense of what happened, but he takes things too far and feels that God brought he and Joe together for a reason, and that reason is love. The movie is billed as a psychological thriller, but I found it tough to be thrilled by seeing essentially the same scene repeated throughout the movie; Jed tries to speak to Joe about the accident, Joe doesn't want to speak about it with Jed and they have a verbal argument. Nothing groundbreaking or overly exciting happens until the climax where Joe, Jed and Claire all have a revelation and things that were slowly building finally come to an end.
The DVD
How's it Look:
Enduring Love is presented in an 1.85:1 aspect ratio which has been enhanced for those of us who've splurged and picked up the widescreen TV. The quality of the print was actually very sharp and I didn't notice any issues with the color palette or any other issues with edges that were unintentional.
From the lush green of the open fields to the closed in and rainy shots of the city that Joe and Jed live in, all shots were clean with no noticeable pixilation or dust to distract me from the story.
How's the Sound:
Packing the usual two channel stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks on here, there is really nothing to either rave about or to complain about when it comes to the audio portion of this DVD.
The sounds were all quite well layered with some nice punch when required, the opening balloon sequence especially nice with the contrast of the serene meadow punctured with the roar of the fire and the screams for help.
Extras:
No extras aside from a couple trailers for other Paramount features, The Machinist, The United States of Leland, Love me if you Dare, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, Intimate Strangers, and Mean Creek.
Closing Thoughts:
As mentioned, from the gripping trailer that caught my attention early on I had high hopes for this film, and the opening scene started to follow through with the expectations that I had. As time passed and the story starting gaining forward momentum, I became less and less thrilled with what was happening before my eyes. My viewing companion actually left the room about three-quarters the way through and didn't even ask for an update on the ending, because the plot was crawling and nothing interesting was happening.
While some may say it's a good entry into the stalking thriller genre, I am going to disagree and say that it's not really even worth watching. Especially if you've seen previews and interest was grown, I would say keep that trailer image in your mind and view that as the movie, and skip the feature length version.
A few months ago, I saw a trailer for a movie that did exactly what a trailer should do; it made me want to watch the movie that it was advertising. It showed just enough to make the movie seem appealing and creepy enough that it would be a good way to spend a couple hours on the couch. That movie was Roger Mitchell's Enduring Love, and unfortunately the trailer pulled the ol' bait and switch, and by the end of the movie I was left feeling very disappointed and wanted my time back.
Enduring Love starts with Joe (Daniel Craig) and his girlfriend Claire (Samantha Morton) in a rolling field, settling in for a picnic on a nice summer day. Things quickly turn very bad when they see a hot air balloon skipping across the ground with a young boy and his grandfather trapped. Joe as well as many other onlookers (who just happened to appear in time) rush to the balloon to help. What follows is a short but very tense scene where something goes dramatically wrong and the balloon lifts into the air with people dangling from a rope, all but one of which lets go in time to have a safe landing on the ground below. Cut ahead a few days/weeks/months and we visit Joe and Claire discussing the incident with friends, trying to make sense of what happened and what could have been done differently to have a different outcome. As Joe continues to try and come to terms with what he's been a part of, a man appears who also was involved on that fateful day and he latches himself to Joe, with some sick obsession.
This other man, Jed played by Rhys Ifans, is obviously suffering from some sort of post-traumatic stress disorder, as he constantly appears with Joe and is also trying to make sense of what happened, but he takes things too far and feels that God brought he and Joe together for a reason, and that reason is love. The movie is billed as a psychological thriller, but I found it tough to be thrilled by seeing essentially the same scene repeated throughout the movie; Jed tries to speak to Joe about the accident, Joe doesn't want to speak about it with Jed and they have a verbal argument. Nothing groundbreaking or overly exciting happens until the climax where Joe, Jed and Claire all have a revelation and things that were slowly building finally come to an end.
The DVD
How's it Look:
Enduring Love is presented in an 1.85:1 aspect ratio which has been enhanced for those of us who've splurged and picked up the widescreen TV. The quality of the print was actually very sharp and I didn't notice any issues with the color palette or any other issues with edges that were unintentional.
From the lush green of the open fields to the closed in and rainy shots of the city that Joe and Jed live in, all shots were clean with no noticeable pixilation or dust to distract me from the story.
How's the Sound:
Packing the usual two channel stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks on here, there is really nothing to either rave about or to complain about when it comes to the audio portion of this DVD.
The sounds were all quite well layered with some nice punch when required, the opening balloon sequence especially nice with the contrast of the serene meadow punctured with the roar of the fire and the screams for help.
Extras:
No extras aside from a couple trailers for other Paramount features, The Machinist, The United States of Leland, Love me if you Dare, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, Intimate Strangers, and Mean Creek.
Closing Thoughts:
As mentioned, from the gripping trailer that caught my attention early on I had high hopes for this film, and the opening scene started to follow through with the expectations that I had. As time passed and the story starting gaining forward momentum, I became less and less thrilled with what was happening before my eyes. My viewing companion actually left the room about three-quarters the way through and didn't even ask for an update on the ending, because the plot was crawling and nothing interesting was happening.
While some may say it's a good entry into the stalking thriller genre, I am going to disagree and say that it's not really even worth watching. Especially if you've seen previews and interest was grown, I would say keep that trailer image in your mind and view that as the movie, and skip the feature length version.
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