Mesmerizing Thriller
Added 2/21/2009
ENDURING LOVE (2004) is the most mesmerizing and unique psychological thriller that I've seen in some time.
It begins with a tragedy. Daniel Craig and girlfriend Samantha Morton are picnicking in a field outside of London when they witness a freak, fatal ballooning accident. Craig and several other men tried to help prevent the death, but they were forced to let go of the balloon.
Awhile later, Craig, who feels a certain amount of guilt about the accident, gets a visit from Rhys Ifans, one of the other men present on that tragic day. What Ifans wants of him is not immediately clear, but this strange man begins to stalk Craig, following him wherever he goes. Ultimately, Ifans' presence and his own growing feelings of guilt begin to destroy Craig's life, including his relationship with Morton.
Directed by Roger Michell, this excellent film has a shocker of an ending.
© Michael B. Druxman
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Enduring Skill of Daniel Craig
Added 11/7/2008
Those unfamiliar with Daniel Craig prior to his brawny beefcake turn as 007 are in for a bit of a shock; like Daniel Day-Lewis, Mr. Craig molds his persona to suit each individual role and is unafraid to make extreme changes in his physical appearance to convey character. Here he plays Joe, a mild-mannered professor, whose placid domestic life with his girlfriend is disrupted by witnessing a freak accident. Joe's marriage proposal is ruined when a hot-air balloon comes crashing into the field where he's picnicking with his girlfriend, causing a tragic death and setting in motion a bizarre chain of events. Another man at the scene attempting to render aid becomes fixated on Joe and morphs into that most tenacious of creatures: the romantically-obsessed stalker. In the aftermath of the accident, as Joe struggles with guilt over having not helped enough and the unwelcome attentions of his new admirer, his formerly happy life rapidly unravels. Rhys Ifans, best known as Hugh Grant's slovenly roommate in "Notting Hill" plays the stalker, using his storklike frame and unconventional looks to chilling effect. Craig displays yet more of his multifaceted acting chops in a performance more delicate and human-sized than Bond. An unsettling little film you won't easily forget, but another solid entry in the Craig canon that proves Mr. Craig is the most nuanced actor to ever fill 007's shoes.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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slow moving movie that tears at the emotions
Added 1/4/2008
This movie has one heck of a beginning. While on a romantic picnic, Joe (Daniel Craig) watches a red balloon fall to the ground. An old man tumbles out as a boy remains trapped inside. The man desperately tugs on the rope attached to the basket in the hopes of keeping the boy close to the ground. Joe runs to help him along with several other people. All of them valiantly try to keep the balloon down and they are close to succeeding until a gust of wind lifts the balloon up higher and higher. All of the men hold desperately on until Joe looks down and realizes he has to let go or risk serious injury. The others start dropping shortly after Joe does, except for one man. This man holds on, refusing to give up. Everyone watches in horror as the inevitable happens. Joe tells the crowd that they should go find him but only one man, named Jed, follows him. They come upon the fallen man who is sitting up. They run closer in amazement until the truth reveals itself. It is an extremely haunting visual.
After this dramatic opening scene, the movie is much slower paced. It dwells and revels in the gut wrenching emotional wreckage left by this incident on those involved. This crawling pace only adds to the creepiness that awaits us.
The experience haunts Joe and messes with his head. He replays it and recalculates over and over again, obsessively, and starts to withdraw. He cannot get over the fact that a doctor with a wife and small child put his own life at stake for a complete stranger. Joe digs into the man's life looking for answers but does not find any resolution.
Cue the reappearance of Jed. He wants to meet with Joe to talk things over. Despite inner bells ringing over Jed's demeanor, he agrees. Joe wants to reconnect with someone who shared the same experience but soon realizes how loopy Jed is and walks away after a very awkward conversation. But this is not the end by a long shot as things get more and more unsettling. Jed has mistakenly taken the intense emotion he feels from the shared incident as "love" for Joe and takes stalking very seriously. At first, I didn't understand why Joe would put up with it. Why not just call the police or something? But Joe suffers from terrible guilt over being the first man to let go and give up on the rescue attempt. These two random people have a bond that was formed by their intense experience and this bond is not so easily shaken when stirred with guilt.
I recommend this movie for when a viewer is in the mood for something heavy. A great film as long as you know what you are getting; otherwise, this movie will just drag on for you.
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Enduring Love
Added 9/16/2007
While I really like Daniel Craig, and he did some fine acting in this movie, the story made no sense and I had a hard time following the convoluted story line.
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A fascinating exploration of the psychological nature of love
Added 8/7/2007
To truly appreciate this movie, I think, is to see it as largely metaphorical. Those critics who dismissed it as typical--and not very interesting--stalker fare have completely missed the boat, and I daresay are not observant or imaginitive enough to be good at their jobs. For the central question the film poses reflects the double meaning in the title: Can real, emotional love be enduring, or is it merely something to be endured? Is love a cruel trick of basic animal biology, as unreliable and enexpected as a sudden gust of wind? What happens to us if we hang on too long (we risk destroying ourselves), or if we let go too soon (we are consumed by guilt, fantasy, and what-ifs)?
Jed and Joe meet as strangers when they both attempt to rescue a boy in a runaway hot air balloon, an attempt that results in the death of another would-be rescuer. Joe is plagued by survivor's guilt and clearly could use a good therapist. Jed, on the other hand, could use a whole TEAM of aggressive therapists. He quickly latches onto Joe quite obsessively, and lays out his theory to him: they were destined to meet and be together. Joe cannot handle this any more than he can handle his own self-doubt and hypocrisy. Is Joe just a nihilist and Jed a hopeless romantic?
I think the filmmakers want us to see a bigger picture, here. Joe is a college humanities professor who lectures on the folly--as he sees it--of basic human morals and ethics. Jed seems guided simply by his gut and his belief that everything happens for a reason. Perhaps inevitably, there is a final, violent confrontation between the two men (which, again, many critics dismissed as sloppily predictable) but to me it raises even more interesting questions about the nature of obsession, love, and the ways these nagging questions manifest themselves in our psyches and actions.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Mesmerizing Thriller
Added 2/21/2009
ENDURING LOVE (2004) is the most mesmerizing and unique psychological thriller that I've seen in some time.
It begins with a tragedy. Daniel Craig and girlfriend Samantha Morton are picnicking in a field outside of London when they witness a freak, fatal ballooning accident. Craig and several other men tried to help prevent the death, but they were forced to let go of the balloon.
Awhile later, Craig, who feels a certain amount of guilt about the accident, gets a visit from Rhys Ifans, one of the other men present on that tragic day. What Ifans wants of him is not immediately clear, but this strange man begins to stalk Craig, following him wherever he goes. Ultimately, Ifans' presence and his own growing feelings of guilt begin to destroy Craig's life, including his relationship with Morton.
Directed by Roger Michell, this excellent film has a shocker of an ending.
© Michael B. Druxman
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Enduring Skill of Daniel Craig
Added 11/7/2008
Those unfamiliar with Daniel Craig prior to his brawny beefcake turn as 007 are in for a bit of a shock; like Daniel Day-Lewis, Mr. Craig molds his persona to suit each individual role and is unafraid to make extreme changes in his physical appearance to convey character. Here he plays Joe, a mild-mannered professor, whose placid domestic life with his girlfriend is disrupted by witnessing a freak accident. Joe's marriage proposal is ruined when a hot-air balloon comes crashing into the field where he's picnicking with his girlfriend, causing a tragic death and setting in motion a bizarre chain of events. Another man at the scene attempting to render aid becomes fixated on Joe and morphs into that most tenacious of creatures: the romantically-obsessed stalker. In the aftermath of the accident, as Joe struggles with guilt over having not helped enough and the unwelcome attentions of his new admirer, his formerly happy life rapidly unravels. Rhys Ifans, best known as Hugh Grant's slovenly roommate in "Notting Hill" plays the stalker, using his storklike frame and unconventional looks to chilling effect. Craig displays yet more of his multifaceted acting chops in a performance more delicate and human-sized than Bond. An unsettling little film you won't easily forget, but another solid entry in the Craig canon that proves Mr. Craig is the most nuanced actor to ever fill 007's shoes.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
slow moving movie that tears at the emotions
Added 1/4/2008
This movie has one heck of a beginning. While on a romantic picnic, Joe (Daniel Craig) watches a red balloon fall to the ground. An old man tumbles out as a boy remains trapped inside. The man desperately tugs on the rope attached to the basket in the hopes of keeping the boy close to the ground. Joe runs to help him along with several other people. All of them valiantly try to keep the balloon down and they are close to succeeding until a gust of wind lifts the balloon up higher and higher. All of the men hold desperately on until Joe looks down and realizes he has to let go or risk serious injury. The others start dropping shortly after Joe does, except for one man. This man holds on, refusing to give up. Everyone watches in horror as the inevitable happens. Joe tells the crowd that they should go find him but only one man, named Jed, follows him. They come upon the fallen man who is sitting up. They run closer in amazement until the truth reveals itself. It is an extremely haunting visual.
After this dramatic opening scene, the movie is much slower paced. It dwells and revels in the gut wrenching emotional wreckage left by this incident on those involved. This crawling pace only adds to the creepiness that awaits us.
The experience haunts Joe and messes with his head. He replays it and recalculates over and over again, obsessively, and starts to withdraw. He cannot get over the fact that a doctor with a wife and small child put his own life at stake for a complete stranger. Joe digs into the man's life looking for answers but does not find any resolution.
Cue the reappearance of Jed. He wants to meet with Joe to talk things over. Despite inner bells ringing over Jed's demeanor, he agrees. Joe wants to reconnect with someone who shared the same experience but soon realizes how loopy Jed is and walks away after a very awkward conversation. But this is not the end by a long shot as things get more and more unsettling. Jed has mistakenly taken the intense emotion he feels from the shared incident as "love" for Joe and takes stalking very seriously. At first, I didn't understand why Joe would put up with it. Why not just call the police or something? But Joe suffers from terrible guilt over being the first man to let go and give up on the rescue attempt. These two random people have a bond that was formed by their intense experience and this bond is not so easily shaken when stirred with guilt.
I recommend this movie for when a viewer is in the mood for something heavy. A great film as long as you know what you are getting; otherwise, this movie will just drag on for you.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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