Film Review: The Edge of Love

By Maricor Capulong

A movie half good, half bad. Lives represented half empty, and half happy. A semi biographical account of the lives of Vera Philips (Knightley,) Caitlin Macnamara (Miller,) William Kilick (Murphy,) and poet Dylan Thomas.


This movie was only released in certain countries, and to the best of my knowledge was not released at all released in the U.S. Through the aid of time and Netflix, I was able to rent the movie amidst its positive reviews about the teaming up of Knightley and Miller, two known fashion pixies in the film industry to date.

The story is just an account of Dylan Thomas' unrequited love from his childhood sweetheart, and the awkward domestic three way he had made with her and his current wife Caitlin.

The characters represented the significant offsets of each others characteristics. For instance, Caitlin is the bohemian type who loves and beds many men outside of marriage.

Free spirited, outwardly strong, but inwardly raw and sensitive. Vera on the other hand is more reserved and practical, marries and stays faithful (although an implication was stated by Caitlin about Vera and Dylan) and more mature in comparison.

While Vera's husband William is off to war, she lives as a neighbor to Dylan and Caitlin. Dylan is a poet, a dreamer than a mover and do'er who often pines for Vera in hopes of them getting together again and rekindling their romance.

William is more practical like Vera, he is in the army and sees the real world through experiences instead of dreaming about them. William sees the real human nature of war, and thus offsets Dylan's fantasy world of poetry.

A thrilling performance by Keira knightley who is noted to have done all the singing in the movie. The opening sequence featured her as a lounge singer, and the moment I did not even recognize her.


The look, the attitude, and Veira's singing pizazz was smoothly portrayed by Keira, without her acting Caliber the character would have lost the very essence of what the movie needed. A performance dripping of future Oscar nods, she outshines Sienna Miller.

Another notable performance is that of Cillian Murphy, who captures the very potential outcome of a man coming home from seeing war at its most raw. From a romantic soldier, and a faithful lover, to being dark and brooding spiraling into a deep psychotic depression he captured it with stark integrity.

Although there are two great actors in this movie, it was most wrong to mix in Sienna Miller and Matthew Rhys, both novice actors that were wrong for their respective parts. They had the easiest parts to play, one is a free spirit, the other one can be read about in an encyclopedia.

Yet these actors did not play the characters enough heart to let its viewers comprehend their importance to lives of the other two characters. This fact carries dead weight to the film, and it falls flat not reaching its potential. I guess this is the reason why it was not released at all in the United States.

This is a good movie to rent but I would say, but not to see in the theaters. Thank goodness of Netflix!