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On The Edge
Universal // R // March 21, 2002
List Price: $32.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
If there's one person in Hollywood I'm a fan of it's the cinematographer Eric Edwards, and it's not just because he's a personal friend of mine. Edwards's work in such films as Copland and To Die For is superb. But it's also a misnomer to link him with Hollywood in the traditional sense. Except for his recent Britney Spears film Crossroads, for the most part Edwards has toiled in the independent film realm, working for directors as diverse as Larry Clark and David O. Russell. He also has a habit of working for young directors, as is the case with John Carney and the film On the Edge.
Set and filmed in Ireland, On the Edge stars Cillian Murphy (who has Uma Thurman's eyes and fetish model Marne Lucas's face) as Jonathan Breech, a lad whose reaction to his father's death is a little extreme: he drives a stolen car off a cliff. Suffering not much more than a broken finger and a forehead scratch, Breech ends up with a three month term in a psychiatric hospital with other suicides, which suits him, as the time will carry him through the holiday season. Under the care of Dr Figure (Stephen Rea), a caring shrink in a big fisherman's sweater, Breech meets the others on his ward, including Rachel (Tricia Vessey), a dabbler in outsider sexual arts. Another new friend is Toby (Jonathan Jackson), who has his own problems, and falls under the protection of Jonathan during their jaunts out.
On the Edge (not its original title) is a light version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Best. Or it's a male version of Girl, Interrupted, with real love blossoming in the hospital thanks to mixed sex lodgings. It's a fluid holding tank: the inmates are given many excursions out, and Jonathan and Toby sneak out with some regularity.
The biggest problem with On the Edge is you never really know what's bothering Jonathan, a common problem in modern screenplays. What is his thing with his dad? And overall, given the seriousness of the setting, it's a rather gentle tale. There is no sense of real inner conflict, and the only outer conflict is with the occasional angry lout who spills beer on Toby or has beer spilled on him. Everyone is understanding, from Jonathan's fellow inmates to the doctor to his own brother, while Jonathan treats them all with an unending stream of not very funny sarcasm. This may sound harsh to say, but mental patients in movies rarely evoke sympathy. They tend to be passive and movies are an active medium. The main thrust of the narrative is an Great Escape climax, in which a few inmates sneak away to throw a New Year's Eve party. This seems like a rather shallow goal for people on the verge of self-extinction. Another problem is that you tend to know where the script, credited to Carney and Daniel James, is going. We know that Toby is doomed—he is small and thin and wears glasses. We just never really know why. And we know that the leads are going to get together, which sends a rather odd message, i.e., that love is really a salutary contract between damaged people.
For this movie, Edwards continues to enjoy his Blue Period, initiated in the blue hued Copland.. Edwards comes up with some good effects: the camera doing a slow somersault as it approaches the driving Breech, foreshadowing his upcoming crash, and a slow zoom in on Vessey's face during a heartrending story. Edwards's framing is as impeccable as usual, and the handheld work is excellent. And if directors can have themes, why can't cinematographers? Edwards always seems to have an important front porch scene in his movies. The most obvious is the lengthy reunion scene in Flirting With Disaster, but most of his other films have similar crucial events occurring on the front steps. Here it's one between Jonathan and his brother early in the film.
The DVD
VIDEO: Universal offers an impeccable transfer of On the Edge. It's a widescreen image (1.85:1). enhanced for widescreen televisions. As stated, Edwards favors blues, and the they appear rich and deep, as if at dusk on a summer day.
SOUND: Audio comes in both Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, and in DTS 5.1 Surround, both good for a film that relies quite a bit on music for its effects and plot advancement. Much of the original score is by director Carney (he also wrote and sings the final song on the track), and there are numerous Irish pop tunes in the score. There are also subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.
MENUS: A static, silent menu offers 18 chapter scene selection for this 86 minute movie.
PACKAGING: On the Edge comes in a keep case whose cover seems to be the poster for the film. The disc label is a dark blue, as befits Edwards's style.
EXTRAS: Besides scene selection and sound and subtitle options, the disc offers the trailer for this film, a 10-screen production history, and cast and crew notes for the top cast members and director.
Final Thoughts: On the Edge is a gentle—too gentle—coming of age film of interest mostly to the friends and family of cast and crew members. It's not a bad movie, just one of limited ambition and achievement.
If there's one person in Hollywood I'm a fan of it's the cinematographer Eric Edwards, and it's not just because he's a personal friend of mine. Edwards's work in such films as Copland and To Die For is superb. But it's also a misnomer to link him with Hollywood in the traditional sense. Except for his recent Britney Spears film Crossroads, for the most part Edwards has toiled in the independent film realm, working for directors as diverse as Larry Clark and David O. Russell. He also has a habit of working for young directors, as is the case with John Carney and the film On the Edge.
Set and filmed in Ireland, On the Edge stars Cillian Murphy (who has Uma Thurman's eyes and fetish model Marne Lucas's face) as Jonathan Breech, a lad whose reaction to his father's death is a little extreme: he drives a stolen car off a cliff. Suffering not much more than a broken finger and a forehead scratch, Breech ends up with a three month term in a psychiatric hospital with other suicides, which suits him, as the time will carry him through the holiday season. Under the care of Dr Figure (Stephen Rea), a caring shrink in a big fisherman's sweater, Breech meets the others on his ward, including Rachel (Tricia Vessey), a dabbler in outsider sexual arts. Another new friend is Toby (Jonathan Jackson), who has his own problems, and falls under the protection of Jonathan during their jaunts out.
On the Edge (not its original title) is a light version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Best. Or it's a male version of Girl, Interrupted, with real love blossoming in the hospital thanks to mixed sex lodgings. It's a fluid holding tank: the inmates are given many excursions out, and Jonathan and Toby sneak out with some regularity.
The biggest problem with On the Edge is you never really know what's bothering Jonathan, a common problem in modern screenplays. What is his thing with his dad? And overall, given the seriousness of the setting, it's a rather gentle tale. There is no sense of real inner conflict, and the only outer conflict is with the occasional angry lout who spills beer on Toby or has beer spilled on him. Everyone is understanding, from Jonathan's fellow inmates to the doctor to his own brother, while Jonathan treats them all with an unending stream of not very funny sarcasm. This may sound harsh to say, but mental patients in movies rarely evoke sympathy. They tend to be passive and movies are an active medium. The main thrust of the narrative is an Great Escape climax, in which a few inmates sneak away to throw a New Year's Eve party. This seems like a rather shallow goal for people on the verge of self-extinction. Another problem is that you tend to know where the script, credited to Carney and Daniel James, is going. We know that Toby is doomed—he is small and thin and wears glasses. We just never really know why. And we know that the leads are going to get together, which sends a rather odd message, i.e., that love is really a salutary contract between damaged people.
For this movie, Edwards continues to enjoy his Blue Period, initiated in the blue hued Copland.. Edwards comes up with some good effects: the camera doing a slow somersault as it approaches the driving Breech, foreshadowing his upcoming crash, and a slow zoom in on Vessey's face during a heartrending story. Edwards's framing is as impeccable as usual, and the handheld work is excellent. And if directors can have themes, why can't cinematographers? Edwards always seems to have an important front porch scene in his movies. The most obvious is the lengthy reunion scene in Flirting With Disaster, but most of his other films have similar crucial events occurring on the front steps. Here it's one between Jonathan and his brother early in the film.
The DVD
VIDEO: Universal offers an impeccable transfer of On the Edge. It's a widescreen image (1.85:1). enhanced for widescreen televisions. As stated, Edwards favors blues, and the they appear rich and deep, as if at dusk on a summer day.
SOUND: Audio comes in both Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, and in DTS 5.1 Surround, both good for a film that relies quite a bit on music for its effects and plot advancement. Much of the original score is by director Carney (he also wrote and sings the final song on the track), and there are numerous Irish pop tunes in the score. There are also subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.
MENUS: A static, silent menu offers 18 chapter scene selection for this 86 minute movie.
PACKAGING: On the Edge comes in a keep case whose cover seems to be the poster for the film. The disc label is a dark blue, as befits Edwards's style.
EXTRAS: Besides scene selection and sound and subtitle options, the disc offers the trailer for this film, a 10-screen production history, and cast and crew notes for the top cast members and director.
Final Thoughts: On the Edge is a gentle—too gentle—coming of age film of interest mostly to the friends and family of cast and crew members. It's not a bad movie, just one of limited ambition and achievement.
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