No one captures machismo on screen quite like David Mamet.
The testosterone-lovin’ scribe may have reached his personal zenith with “The Edge,” a taut 1997 thriller which made its Blu-ray debut last week.
The film casts Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin as two very different men forced to survive in bear-infested woods.
It’s genre filmmaking spiked with Mamet’s brute storytelling, and one anchored by two savvy vets who bring a nasty friction to their respective roles.
Hopkins stars as Charles Morse, a billionaire who accompanies his trophy wife (Elle Macpherson) to a photo shoot out in the Alaskan wilderness.
Charles decides to take an impromptu flight with head photographer Bob (Baldwin) to find a more suitable subject for a forthcoming shoot.
But a gaggle of birds brings down their small plane, killing the pilot and sending Charles, Bob and and an assistant (Harold Perrineau of “Lost” fame) crashing to earth.
Survival is the first order now, but that won’t be easy with an angry bear stalking the grounds.
Charles’ rapacious mind gives him an edge over his younger, more fit companions. He can make a compass out of a paper clip and has a survival anecdote for every scenario – a precious piece of storytelling that’s hard to swallow here. Still, Charles’ pluck might not be enough if that bear gets any closer.
And there’s something about the quiet rivalry between Charles and Bob that can’t be overlooked.
Director Lee Tamahori (“Once Were Warriors”) stages the bear battles with a “how’d they do that?” ferocity, but he keeps even the quieter moments humming with possibility.
Hopkins and Baldwin are uniquely qualified to commandeer the screen, which makes their scenes together far more than just an exercise in man vs. nature theatrics.
“The Edge” doesn’t come equipped with any extras, Blu-ray or otherwise. That’s a shame since the bear sequences alone demand a shot-by-shot breakdown, or at least some funny anecdotes from the cast and crew.
Related posts:
on 
on 
on 
on 
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Since Mamet is now one of the good guys, I guess Alec Baldwin will decline to be in any of his future projects. Maybe Mamet can get the non-Baldwin brother Baldwin (Adam) to star in his next movie.
Entertaining flick.
One of my all-time favorite movies from the 90s, and I saw it before I knew who David Mamet was. The scene where Hopkins and Baldwin duke it out with the bear was absolutely bravura filmmaking.