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Hot pursuit
A hot-air balloon disaster sets off a disturbing and well filmed but not entirely convincing stalker story in "Enduring Love."
By ROBIN EISGRAU
Offoffoff.com
What is it with Rhys Ifans and balloons? First he stars in "Danny Deckchair," where his character travels a long distance via helium balloons tied to a chair, and now he's in this film, which centers around a ballooning accident. Unlike the sunny "Danny Deckchair," "Enduring Love" is a dark tale of stalking.
Unassuming London university professor Joe Rose (played by Daniel Craig) takes his girlfriend, Claire, to a quiet clearing in the country for a picnic. He's about to pour the Dom Perignon when a hot-air balloon crashes to the ground right near them with a young boy in the basket. A man named Jed (Ifans) is trying to hold the balloon down and Joe rushes to help, as does a man driving by. The men grab hold of ropes and suddenly a gust of wind comes up, blowing the balloon away as the man from the car is still holding on. The balloon climbs higher and the man loses grip and falls to his death. Jed and Joe find the dead man and Jed suggests that they pray. Joe reluctantly goes along.
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| ENDURING LOVE | Directed by: Roger Michell.
Written by: Joe Penhall.
Adapted from a novel by: Ian McEwan.
Cast: Daniel Craig, Samantha Morton, Rhys Ifans, Bill Nighy, Alexandra Aitken .
Cinematography: Haris Zambarloukos.
Edited by: Nicolas Gaster.
Related links: Official site |
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Later, back in London, Joe is obsessing about the accident. He gets a mysterious phone call from Jed, who begs to see him. Soon Jed starts stalking Joe. When Joe asks Jed what he wants, Jed cryptically replies, "You know what I want" and encourages Joe to "give in." Joe starts losing his marbles, as Jed won't go away. Claire is fed up with him and the inevitable confrontation between the three is violent and messy.
Intelligent pacing and creative camera work make "Enduring Love" a fairly substantial stalker pic, but it's kind of frustrating. Not once does Joe contact the police about Jed's stalking him and it's a glaring hole in the story's logic. Ifans is convincingly creepy as Jed (who could be the dark twin of the loopy character he played in Roger Michell's earlier film, "Notting Hill") and Craig is very good at conveying the frazzled emotions of someone falling apart. If you're in the mood for a thriller that's involving but won't keep you up at night, this film might be just the ticket.
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2004
OFFOFFOFF.COM • THE GUIDE TO ALTERNATIVE NEW YORK
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