"We were freezing our asses off in a glacier stream and I said (to Anthony Hopkins), 'The script read real different when you were tucked in bed, huh?'" - Alec Baldwin

What could be an adult version of one of those old Disney nature flicks (the kind that was narrated by Rex Allen) or a "Deliverance" for the 90's, turns out instead to be a remarkable film about man vs. nature bogged down by too much bullshit about man vs. man. Scripter David Mamet has once again let me down, but not so severely this time. This piece isn't as uninteresting as "Hoffa" or as dreary as "American Buffalo," but then again, it doesn't have the plot of "Homicide" or the verbal brilliance of "Glenngary Glenn Ross," the work by which I judge all of Mamet's other projects.

The plot involves a very wealthy man, played by Anthony Hopkins who, through highly suspect incidents, get lost in the wilderness with Alec Baldwin and L.Q. Jones. The way they get stranded is suspect because there's foul play afoot, but because of the way it's scripted. It's a little too convenient. This will happen a couple more times in the film, where we just can't believe what Mamet's script expects us to simply swallow. These aren't highfalutin complex issues really, but rather human nature treated as much more ridiculous and flexible then it ever really could be. One particular plot twist, towards the end of the film, expects us to believe that Baldwin would do something against Hopkins that simply isn't really feasible. It wouldn't happen if the two had just went through the incredible "male bonding" survival which they, supposedly, just went through here.

Hopkins tries as best he can to create a character out of thin air. He fails. We never believe his timid, quiet, intelligent bookworm could ever be a billionaire. He holds nothing in common with late 20th century moguls. Baldwin, meanwhile, has fun with his role leading us to suspect his sexuality for many minutes into the film. His photographer never comes across as someone who could fulfill the plot's unrealistic twists. We don't believe Mamet's plot, in the end, and the actors are mainly at fault in this.

Still, "The Edge" isn't all that bad. When Mamet and the director, whose name is Lee Tamahori, concentrate on the trio surviving in the wilderness and leaves all the psychological bullshit behind, the film is riveting. This is really the main body of the film. A struggle of survival against nature, mainly personified by a huge bear, is central here. This part of the story is complex and intriguing. Why couldn't this simply be the story?

"The Edge" works. It's got a strong central story. It's got wonderful visuals landscapes of the wilderness. Sometimes it's exquisitely beautiful to look at. It has half a script by David Mamet. It's also got Elle McPherson topless for about 15 seconds. Something in there has to be worth seven bucks.

The Scene that Remains The bear's evil looking lower lip.

Note:

At times the film was also going to be called "The Wild" or "Bookworm."

Baldwin appeared in the Mamet scripted "Glengary Glen Ross."

Several actors turned down the role that Hopkins played including Robin Williams, Daniel Day-Lewis and Mel Gibson. DeNiro read with Baldwin and said no. Mamet apparently rewrote the ending of the film to be more "realistic" and more suited to Hopkin's age (60). Hopkins said "It's the closest I've come to playing myself."

(Review written in 1997)

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