Bear-Tooth's Edge

Anthony Hopkins a wilderness hero? I guess if he can be Nixon he can do anything. Alec Baldwin a whiny weasel? That we can believe. The two of them together making for a powerful film metaphor on spiritual survival? What a pleasant surprise when all I expected was a basic action/adventure. The inspiration I got from this film, which I believe is a fundamental spiritual principle, is the power of choice and attitude. "What do you want to do, lay down and die?" Hopkins asks Baldwin at one point. Their circumstances at that point, it could be said, make a convincing argument for that alternative. But Hopkins' character will not crumble. Well, you could say, he has billions of dollars and Elle McPherson to live for when he gets back to civilization. Well, he'll still have billions of dollars when it's over, but even that would be of little use if he had Alec Baldwin's character makeup instead of the one that comes out under the pressure of the wilderness ordeal. There is an old Persian saying, "Trust in God, and tie up your camel." Hopkins does both. His faith in his own ability to survive is so strong it is an unspoken fact that you know he has a divine faith. Baldwin's counterpoint of deceit and treachery and cowardice makes for a real work of art character study and lesson in philosophy and spirituality. Plus great plotting, scenery, action, and satisfying ending. Somerset Maugham wrote a classic novel called "The Razor's Edge," and Bill Murray had the great misfortune to star in a screen adaptation. This film says it all better than that book, and the less said about that movie the better.