The Edge - Raw Survival

Charles Morse: Never feel sorry for a man who owns a plane.

The Edge (1997)

Directed by Lee Tamahori
Anthony Hopkins as Charles Morse
Alec Baldwin as Robert Green
Elle Macpherson as Mickey Morse
Harold Perrineau Jr. as Stephen
L.Q. Jones as Styles
Bart The Bear as The Bear


The Storyline / plot

Billionaire Charles Morse, his young wife Mickey and their camera crew fly into Alaska to do a photo shoot. Mickey is a glorious young model. Her photographer Robert was very close to her, entirely too close for Charles Morse. He suspected that the two were having an affair. As the film progresses, Charles, Robert and Stephen go on a flight that takes them exceedingly deep into the wilds of the Alaskan frontier. They were attempting to locate an older native Indian hunter that was supposed to be at cabin in the far reaches of this wilderness. While the plane full of men is flying around the wilderness trying to locate the hunter, the unthinkable happens. Their small plane goes down in the middle of nowhere.

Charles had not become a billionaire by chance. The man was a genius and a fountain of knowledge. The three men find themselves in a very precarious and potentially deadly situation. The pilot had been killed and the plane was in the bottom of a lake, so they had absolutely no supplies. Furthermore they had been on their way to different cabin, so no one even knew where to look for survivors. Then to top it all off, they have a man eating Kodiak bear after them. Their situation seemed dismal.

Quote from The Edge

Charles: You know, I once read an interesting book which said that, most people lost in the wilds, they die of shame.
Stephen: What?
Charles: Yeah, see, they die of shame. "What did I do wrong? How could I have gotten myself into this?" And so they sit there and they die. They fail to do the one thing that would save their lives.
Robert: And what is that, Charles?
Charles: Thinking.


Conclusion
I truly enjoyed The Edge. The film was very well thought out in every aspect. It helps to have a good intelligent script and plot to start out with and The Edge has all of that and then some. The plot is a good combination of several elements. First off the film is a very plausible story of survival. The characters do not have much with regards to material belongings, tools or weapons. They are forced to endure or perish, what they have is their nerve and knowledge. Sometimes knowledge can be enough. The story also comes with an unusual twist of unfaithfulness. Robert (Baldwin) had been having an affair with the wife of Charles (Hopkins), and Charles knew what was happening. In fact Charles makes it clear to Robert that he knows what has been going on between Robert and his wife. Their situation is ill at ease, to say the least and it works well in the film.

The endless knowledge that Charles possesses turns out to be the very thing that keeps the men alive in the unforgiving wilderness. For Robert, it would be so easy to eliminate the billionaire in the wilds and then run off with his wealthy, widowed wife! But how can he pull that off when the man is his only hope of making it out alive? So I think the plot works well in the film. The dialog is very intelligent and keeps the viewer exceedingly interested and intrigued throughout the movie. The acting by everyone concerned was exceptional. Hopkins and Baldwin are at the top of there game in this film. Their characters could not have been portrayed any better by anyone. Bart the bear is also in the film and the bear is just awesome. When a film required a big scary bear, Bart would always get the role. The high quality acting really makes the movie.

The scenery is really something to see. The film was shot in Alberta Canada and it is just spectacular. The Cinematography was as good as I have seen in a wilderness film. The shots of the bear tangling with the actors were particularly striking. The film was also original; I have not seen a film quite like The Edge before. I believe that most people would enjoy this film. I did not find any flaws in the filming, plot, tempo, dialog, authenticity, casting or acting. I have added this movie to my personal collection and I give The Edge five of five stars.


Similar Movies

• The Bear
• Legends Of The Fall
• The Deliverance

RUNTIME: 1 Hour 57 minutes
Rated : [R] for violence and language

Thanks for the read,
~Mac

© 2004 Joe McMaster