Fairly compelling drama set during World War II. When young Welsh singer Vera (Keira Knightley) meets her old friend Dylan Thomas (Matthew Rhys), their youthful attraction is rekindled. But Thomas is now married to Caitlin (Sienna Miller), and Vera is courted by a soldier (Cillian Murphy) soon to be sent back into battle.
The film wisely keeps its focus on the relationship between the two women, the real subject of the story, with the famous poet creating both a bond and a tension between them. Unlike Sylvia and Iris, it’s certainly not a writer biopic.
Knightley’s Welsh accent is surprisingly convincing, although people from Wales might not agree. Her singing is credible, too. She’s charismatic, as is Murphy as her troubled lover, psychologically damaged by the war. Sienna Miller is also impressive, communicating a huge range of emotions with subtle grace. Rhys, meanwhile, struggles somewhat to convey the magnetism that the plot needs to hinge upon. Poetry aside, exactly what was it that these two women loved so much about him?
The film is occasionally a little over-stylised and there are some unrealistic moments (a view of St. Paul’s Cathedral amid bomb wreckage just looked like a painting), but it’s never predictable and it makes you fully engage with all four of the main characters. In terms of mood and tone it flits oddly all over the place, but I rather like that.
There are cameos by Suggs of Madness and Lisa Stansfield.
Keira Knightley’s mother wrote the screenplay.
An incredible number of cigarettes are smoked.
It’s not clear why it’s called Edge of Love – a title that would work for almost any film with a romantic storyline.
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