Rent Enduring Love (2004)

A tense pot-boiler with a brilliant Ifans, but still too slow to really soar - Enduring Love review by TB

Immediately after he had finished filming The Mother, Daniel Craig reteamed with Roger Michell to star in his next film. And whilst the subject is in many ways as captivating, it also feels like a missed opportunity, filled with random characters and a meandering plot. However, the biggest positive is that we have some characters who are likeable. And there are some very good moments, particularly the opening scene which is masterfully shot & exquisitely building the tension which is to come.

Craig stars as Joe, a college professor who, in the opening shots, has gone for a romantic picnic with his partner Claire. Their peace is suddenly traumatically interrupted due to a ballooning accident that happens in front of them. In the battle to save the young boy trapped inside, a man is killed after joining in the efforts to help try to bring the balloon down. One of the other men involved, Jed, then becomes absolutely fixated by Joe and begins to stalk him relentlessly, becoming increasingly threatening. Added to this is the fact that no-one believes Joe when he tells them about this, either thinking he is imagining it or is mistaken.

There are, despite the 3 star rating, many positives and good things about this film, mainly the cast. Having Roger Michell, who also made Notting Hill, as the director has attracted an amazing roll call of actors. I felt that, as much as he gave it his best shot, Daniel Craig was actually the weakest of all of them. Although that was mainly due to how his character is written, because Joe as a person is actually quite boring. He is, despite his job as a teacher, unbelievably socially awkward and although you sympathise with him, you never really like him that much. Samantha Morton also tries her best and does play the disconnected artist and unsure lover quite well.

However, partly the reason for the lack of impact from the other actors is due to the incredible performance of Rhys Ifans. In the special features, Michell had talked about the fact that many people would have expected Craig to be cast as Jed, but the genius of Ifans is that he plays totally against type. Jed is such a creepy person, and Ifans accentuates every single one of these characteristics. Although at first coming across as a bit of a drippy-hippy type person, Jed has an unbelievable aura to him, as well as a deviousness & danger below the surface. He certainly is not harmless, and you as the audience are made to feel every bit as uncomfortable as Joe is throughout the film. But at the same time you cannot take your eyes off him.

Unfortunately, despite this excellent work, sadly the film itself does have some significant issues. The main one by a country mile is how slow moving at times this movie is. I appreciate that the slowness of pace makes the sudden shocks have more impact, but it is extremely meandering and there are some scenes which should really have been left on the cutting room floor. Also, the soundtrack leaves much to be desired, the potential filled instead with mainly melancholy and boring strings.

But this is still a good film in many ways, and absolutely see it for Ifans.

dont bother! - Enduring Love review by CP Customer

Dreary Brit filck that quickly ends predictably