The Edge of Love (2008)

Sigh. The Edge of Love could have been good. It was almost good. Cillian Murphy was in it and he's always good. But it wasn't really good.

Remember the problem I had with The Last Station? This didn't have that problem - I went running to Wikipedia to find out what I didn't know about Dylan Thomas. I learned that Matthew Rhys was great casting. The problem with The Edge of Love is that it isn't about Dylan Thomas or anyone else.

This movie tried to be about Keira Knightly's character and then sort of about her relationship with Sienna Miller's character. But it's also about their relationships with Dylan Thomas, Keira Knightly's relationship with Cillian Murphy, World War II and the impact it had on its soldiers, the morality of adultury, and abortion. Too much. All over.

One of those things as an entire movie could have been really great. The talent is there and some of the scenes, as stand alone scenes, are very engaging. It could have been a love triangle if they had nixed Cillian Murhpy (although, in my biased opinion, he's the best thing about the movie). Or it could have been about the two couples if the film had begun after they were two couples (rather than half a movie spent trying to get Cillian Murphy and Keira Knightly together). Or it could have had nothing to do with Dylan Thomas and been about a woman who marries a soldier and learns she's pregnant while he's away at war only to have him return a different man. Or it could have been about Dylan Thomas and his tulmultous relationship with his wife. It tried to be all and succeeded at none. Alas.

A few random ramblings: Keira Knightly's Welsh accent was distracting. You know who I identify most with the uber-Welsh accent? Aimee-Ffion Edwards who played Sketch on Skins. Sketch was sorta nutzo so I tend to identify really Welsh women with nutzo. Sorry Welsh women. Also - there's an episode of The IT Crowd where Roy goes to dinner with a blind date and she's also nuts and really Welsh. It's British T.V. that's done it to me.

Also, Matthew Rhys was very good. I know him only from Brothers and Sisters and his pretty small role in Titus. So seeing him be a lead and Welsh was a nice change.

Cillian Murphy was also good - but I always think he's fantastic. He's up there on the list of actors I adore with James McAvoy, Jonathan Rhys Myers, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Jamie Bell. Speaking of which - Keira Knightly has gotten to play oposite three of them now. Lucky her.

So The Edge of Love. Almost good. But not.