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Director: John Maybury

Cast: Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, Cillian Murphy, Matthew Rhys

Runtime: 110mins

Love has been captured in the most complex way possible in this film. As Vera (Keira Knightley) says, Dylan is just a man with stones in his head, stones which are like words in the poetry of life.

The Edge of Love is filled with so much passion and complexities that we can literally swim in them. The love story of four friends. Poet Dylan Thomas (Matthew Rhys), whose every dialogue is a poem is a person who loves to lust. His Wife Caitlin (Sienna Miller) supports him with no other choice. War hero William (Cillian Murphy), who saves him from a street brawl. And then there’s his childhood sweetheart. Sweet Vera. She becomes Caitlin’s closest friend and later William’s wife. And, like Dylan’s poems a ‘Shining Light’ in his dark life.

It’s the year 1940 and bombs are going off all over the place. Enter Vera who is a stage singer. She meets Dylan for the first time again in years. Their bright eyes shining through the smoke filled room. Their hearts are filled with pure passion for each other. He introduces his beloved wife and then continues to woo Vera.

The Edge of Love is an artistic visual treat. Artistic Cinema at its best. Breathtaking sequences shot in some of the most beautiful locales. The two friends were like free birds with so much tension between them, still enjoying every moment of their lives. The Director was able to capture exactly that. It is one of the most beautiful themes of this film.

This film is all about using colors effectively. In Wartime Britain, Caitlin and Vera are covered in an ocean of grey. When we first see Caitlin, we see through her captivating blue eyes, sparkling in a dark railway carriage. As she gets back with Dylan, her red dress dashes through the colorless surroundings. Cillian Murphy’s angry outburst was when a good character turns dark. It was one of the darkest shots in the film and it almost looked a graphic novel set in old times.

Dylan’s Poetry is like light though the darkness that is present in this world. A biopic of a man, who saw things differently and inspires us to take a different approach in seeing things. Talking of performances, even though the main characters were played by Keira Knightley and Matthew Rhys, Sienna Miller stole the show with so much ease. She wasn’t even acting; in fact she was living the character. I wouldn’t be surprised if she got an Oscar nod. Keira Knightley was at her best and was the central character of the film. This should be one of her career best performances after Atonement last year. Matthew Rhys as the self-indulgent poet is a character you wished someone would kill him at some point, alas that was not to be. And lastly Cillian Murphy, the charming captain who looked so comfortable in this role, than I have ever seen him before. There was this aura of confidence around him. And the transition from a charming person to a suspicious husband who forgot how to love is what makes his performance unforgettable.

With some of the strongest performances, this film could get some Oscar nominations.

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