The Edge of Love Reviews

At last, I finally managed to watch this flick… Seriously, it was one of those movies I had like ages on DVD (apparently, I bought it at least 2 years ago) and, somehow, it didn’t get to watch it until now, even though it looked rather promising. Before it was released, there was a little bit of fuss about it because Lindsay Lohan, at the time still an actress with a bright future, dropped just before filming began and was replaced by Sienna Miller. Anyway, that’s when it started to go really wrong with Lohan and after watching this flick, I seriously couldn’t imagine her portraying a woman living in Great Britain during WWII with a child on top of that. Even though Sienna Miller is far from being a great actress, at least, she did fit the part. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, honestly, it was not really good, I’m afraid. I mean, there was definitely some potential about these characters but I was expecting a lot of passion but the movie was apparently missing some ‘edge’. On top of that, it was rather unfocused. I mean, when you look at the promotional material, it seems that it was about the relationship between those two women but it wasn’t the case. Then, you would think that it was about the relationship of Dylan Thomas with those two women but it wasn’t the case either. Basically, it jumps from one couple to the other without really knowing what to say and therefore, the end-result was rather underwhelming. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think it is worth a look but don’t expect anything really amazing.

The Edge Of Love is a film that I knew I wasn't going to love but was definitely going to like for its good cast and story. The Edge Of Love is a beautiful and flawed film about friendship, war and love. I thought it was good but not that good. It is set in the days of World War II and that is about the only good thing about the way this film is filmed. The Edge Of Love is a film that isn't one of the best films ever but it is a film that is dramatically and romantically entertaining in its own way. The Edge Of Love is a very underrated film that does deserve more credit it a more critical way. The Edge Of Love is beautiful because of the friendship between Vera and Caitlin but unfortunately that friendship suffers numerous consequences due to heartbreak, betrayal and even violence involved. It is a film that I liked but not one that I absolutely loved. The cast is good but I don't think the acting in this film is that good to be honest. There is one thing that all four adults and actors within this film have in common and that is that they are all mixed up and confused characters in their own minds. I never realised until after I saw The Edge Of Love that three of the four characters were real people.


The characters Miller, Murphy and Rhys portrayed were all real people but Knightley's character portrayal of Vera Phillips is a fictional character. Sienna Miller was the best of the four actors within it definitely because she made her character the most believable and the one character that you could feel sorry for the most. Keira Knightley was alright as Vera Phillips but I couldn't really feel the love Vera had for William. I usually love Keira in her films but I think The Edge Of Love is a film from her that I felt slightly disappointed about. Cillian Murphy was quite good as William Killick but not awesome. He tries to teach all people the true nature of war after experiencing it himself. I mean, the cast is good but the acting wasn't all great from the cast. I found that the most flawed about The Edge Of Love.


The Edge Of Love director John Maybury wasn't all bad for directing this film. This film has a taste for romance but not completely for emotional drama. I don't know what is awful about this film and I don't know what is so good about it either. I will give this film the biggest credit I can give and that is that it is very underrated and should be attempted by all film fans at least before giving up on it. It is a slightly lame script but I can see why. It is a film from the BBC but they don't really do top notch films like that.


The best BBC film of the year is without a doubt The Boy In The Striped Pajamas which is another underrated 2008 film. The Edge Of Love is an underrated film of 2008 as it says in my review but I can see why. Keira Knightley's second worst performance after Domino. Her performance was disappointing but not a performance that I would call bad or good. Sienna Miller's performance was the best but it is her best acting role so far after Layer Cake and Stardust. Maybe worth a watch but I wouldn't recommend it to everybody. I find it to be a good flawed film.

''First love is alright as far as it goes, last love that's what I'm interested in.''


Two feisty, free-spirited women are connected by the brilliant, charismatic poet who loves them both.

Keira Knightley: Vera Phillips

Sienna Miller: Caitlin MacNamara

The Edge Of Love obviously is a drama set in the mist of World War 2 in London and the beautiful Welsch Countryside. You could say Edge of Love is in the same style of Atonement.
I found it hugely amusing that Keira Kinghtley now has a love interest in the guise of Irish actor Cillian Murphy's William Killick, whereas in Atonement it was Scottish James McAvoy.

Anyway back to Edge of Love and the scenario that comes into light. We have Dylan Thomas played by Matthew Rhys who I don't recollect seeing before, we have his wife Caitlin portrayed by Sienna Miller then we have Keira Knightley who is Vera Phillips a childhood flame from Dylan's past.

Let's face it the plot isn't exactly original we have all seen films which give us a love triangle scenario. But Edge of Love does it in a way that makes the journey compelling to watch. Into this trio's life quite soon emerges William Killick, who is played by Cillian Murphy as I mentioned, who falls for Vera and becomes involved with her having the obvious advantage over Dylan in the fact he is unmarried. What transpires is a drama that involves William going off to war only for Dylan and Vera to have a rekindling of their childhood love. Edge of Love is a WW2 drama piece that shows electrifying performances from all players.

Whether it be Sienna Miller's out going do what she likes Caitlin or Keira's faceted dimensional Vera it's wonderfully depicted.
Edge of Love also shows a friendship between these two and a bond that in essence shows the delicate intricacies of the female and their reaction toward each other.
The chemistry I felt was stronger even than that of Cillian Murphy & Keira especially the last scenes where the two leads totally grasp emotion and flair not just in their words but in their eyes too which to me is and was beautiful.
Dylan was a character who was interesting but I tended to dislike for the movie due to his surprisingly selfish choices and arrogant ways. Misusing his poet skills for a cowardly way out of War and ending up with no money or determination to do the right thing even in a grueling court case in which he should of not done what he did.
Cillian Murphy also has some powerful scenes near the latter part of how the War has effected him and how if pushed, how easy it is to just snap and be forced into violent and retaliative action.

Keira and Sienna also pull off and attempt to muster Welsh accents which was very amusing to hear them do. In my opinion Keira had a more profound performance and beauty due to her stylized, colourful life depicted of her in the Underground singing for the people as the bombs are being dropped above.

The costumes, uses of footage back in the day, locations, the casual, frequent smoking by all the characters and the effective props all help capture the feel and quality of the period.
Edge of Love gives us a story that really shows an array of people and how their lives are ultimately effected by one another, in this regard it succeeds in it's detailed emotional study of love, loss and newfound aspects of life.