Way back in the 1990s, there were some commercials for this movie called The Edge, starring Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin. The commercials painted a picture of the film’s plot as two men lost in the woods who hated each other and who crafted traps in their war against one another while surviving in the harsh region. There were a lot of grimaces and screams from both actors, as well as dramatic music to imply that this was something of a crazy action movie in the wilderness. When I saw it for myself on home video as a young teenager, I wasn’t able to fully understand all the subtle implications of the dialogue and acting, but I was able to understand two important lessons:

1. The Edge is a fantastic movie

2. The Edge is very different from how I interpreted the trailers

It was probably the first instance in my life that I truly understood that trailers could be so deeply misleading for the film they were advertising. This and the trailer for the film Twister that advertised a scene that never happened in the movie (a truck tire flies at the screen) have forever made me skeptical of believing anything that is shown in a trailer. Regardless of if you have seen or can even remember the trailers for The Edge or not, you should just know that it’s a damn good movie with a lot more to it than just its action.

What is it?

Billionaire entrepreneur Charles Morse (Anthony Hopkins) has traveled to the beautiful isolated landscape of Alaska with his young bombshell wife Mickey Morse (Elle MacPherson) and her entourage for a photo shoot. Chiefly among the group is Bob Green (Alec Baldwin), the cocky, ambitious photographer who Charles suspects is having relations with his wife behind his back. However, while someone with a fiery personality might just confront Bob, Charles is a very calm and collected individual and refrains from getting too accusatory too quickly. Instead, he just sits back reads some survival books, and demonstrates how an intelligent man like him likely became rich in the first place.

After a great deal of foreshadowing occurs, Charles joins Bob and his friend Stephen (Harold Parrineu) on a small seaplane for a quick excursion to find an Eskimo hunter and do a photoshoot. When they get to the location, all that greets them is an empty hut and disappointment. On the way back to the hotel, the plane hits a flock of birds and crashes into a lake, killing the pilot and stranding Charles, Bob, and Stephen in the wilderness. The three of them set out to make their way back to the hotel on foot or to an area where search planes would look for them, but they have to survive the perils of the wild on their journey, including a very hungry bear.

What Makes it Great?

Acting

Despite the misleading trailer, The Edge is focused almost entirely on the survival of these individuals, how the dangers of the wild can drain or emotionally destroy a man, and how important it is to work together in the most trying of moments, even if you have conflicting goals. At multiple moments throughout the film, the physical drain in Charles or Bob is very apparent as one tries to inspire the other to keep going. Most often it’s Charles trying to get Bob back on his feet, but there are moments in which Charles looks exhausted and Bob steps up. Obviously, looking tired is not a big deal when you talk about a person’s acting ability. It’s the subtlety of the performances by Alec Baldwin and especially Anthony Hopkins that makes these moments work.

Hopkins is so good at just capturing your attention in this movie, even though he is most often just a calm, stoic individual. He brings a quiet intensity to the film that makes it all the more entertaining when he has a bit of jovial laughter, or invigorating when he’s screaming that he’s going to kill the bear. When he’s hyping up Alec Baldwin about killing the bear that has been pursuing them, I get amped up as well because he’s so convincing. In some ways, he overshadows Alec Baldwin, who is no slouch himself. His performance in Glengarry Glen Ross for a single scene—another film with a David Mamet script—helped establish Baldwin’s acting prowess and reputation, and he was quickly proving to be a decent actor who could share the screen with someone as good as Hopkins.

Regardless of who upstages whom, the performances of both men are intense and captivating during the action, but, like I said, the subtlety is what makes it so much better. This is most prevalent in the scenes in which you know the subject matter is Charles’ suspicion that Bob is having relations with Mickey. These scenes allow the audience to engage in the discussion because we’re allowed to have our own suspicions and interpretations of their interactions. You can see it in Hopkin’s face and you can see in how Baldwin reacts to the playful accusations that Charles throws at Bob. He says lines like “How were you planning to kill me?” all very nonchalantly in some dialogue with Bob in which you know he’s being honest in his somewhat paranoid ideas, but we have to laugh alongside Bob with the awkwardness of the accusation. Yet, at the moment, you can see Bob is someone who is very quick to lie to get himself out of a jam and who very well might be considering murder. So, it’s understandable why Charles might suspect him. We as the audience can go back and forth believing one theory or another and still want both men to survive their endeavor, regardless of who is right. You don’t get that sort of experience from a movie where the acting is poor or even just good; you only get an engaging experience like this when you have acting of the caliber that is in The Edge.

Truly, though, I have not even mentioned the biggest actor. I’ve mentioned his character multiple times, as he’s central to the plot and external danger. I’m talking, of course, about Bart the Bear. Bart was featured in numerous films during his career and The Edge was one of his last films before he died. Bart was an incredible animal actor and his trainer was very good at getting him to act docile in one shot and ferocious in another. The music and direction perfectly manage to make Bart’s presence on screen intimidating and ominous. While The Edge is more of a drama than an action film, in the scenes with Bart, the movie is tense and harrowing.

Script

While I won’t say I’m the biggest fan of David Mamet—I didn’t like Glengarry Glen Ross, for instance—I think the script of The Edge is fantastic. It doesn’t have the snappy dialogue that Mamet is known for; it’s a bit more subdued. This adds a lot of synergy to the performances of the actors. It’s efficient in setting things up, giving us the necessary foreshadowing while leaving room for the subtlety of the acting. When you have characters talking like they often do in a Tarantino film, it keeps your attention, but there’s not much quiet or softness to the scenes that allow moments to breathe. Here, you as the audience get to experience the doomed fatigue these men experience. You get to join in Charles’ suspicions as well as Bob’s awkward attempts to dodge the accusations. A script that is too concerned with moving the plot along can sometimes rob you of the subtle moments that make The Edge so special.

Why You’re Wrong if You Disagree

Very simply put: Complexity through subtlety and constant tension

It’s no secret that Anthony Hopkins is one the greatest actors of the past 40+ years. Even in the bad movies in which he’s starred, he’s still given compelling performances that draw you in. For the past 30 years, he’s been playing roles that often focus on or imply something about his age, but that he’s an intelligent or cunning individual. This is no surprise when you consider how Hopkins presents himself—especially when he’s listening to metal. The Edge is not an exception, as it’s clear that his character’s greatest asset is his knowledge. However, that asset also happens to be something that can be considered a flaw in some instances, especially when it comes to trust.

Charles is the smartest (and richest) person in the room in every scene and he knows it, but he doesn’t flaunt it in an arrogant fashion. He does so through anecdotes and short replies to other characters’ questions or requests. When the conversation he has with the hotel owner shifts to a sales pitch to expand the property with Charles’ financial assistance, you see that Charles had his suspicions confirmed that this discussion was all just in the hopes of getting something out of him. It’s a short scene that shows how distrusting he is due to the fact that he’s a wealthy man from whom everyone wants something.

Meanwhile, Alec Baldwin is young and charismatic as Bob, using his charm to diffuse awkward situations. He’s a likable character, even if he is a little arrogant and not worthy of our trust. A good example of what makes him seem like a character who perhaps doesn’t seem entirely honest is the birthday party scene. It’s a scene that plays into the age of Charles in that you wonder if the surprise that happens is meant to startle him so much he’d have a heart attack or hurt himself. Bob is at the center of the event and responsible for the big scare, he then acts shocked that Charles was so startled he fell over. I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t react the way Charles does in that scene, so Bob’s behavior, while convincingly concerned, seems disingenuous. Even if he wasn’t trying to kill him, was he just trying to hurt him in some way because he didn’t like him? Who can say?

Not to repeat myself too much, but this distrust we and Charles have of Bob culminates and immediately establishes tension between the two protagonists for the rest of the film in the scene I already mentioned in which Charles casually asks how Bob plans to kill him. You know that he’s saying it nonchalantly to catch him off guard and still make it seem like a joke, you also know that he means it. Later on, it’s confirmed that he meant it when Bob saves Charles’ life and Charles is in disbelief. Not willing to let the tension die between the two men, Bob then casually replies how he needs Charles in order to survive, implying that he would still possibly kill him later. All of these accusations are made in calm and somewhat genial tones to make it seem like neither character really means it, but we as the audience are allowed to think otherwise.

The Edge does not treat its audience as idiots. Instead, it allows us to relate to Charles’ suspicions while still relating to Bob as a somewhat likable character and hoping that Charles is wrong. It adds tension and complexity to the characters’ dynamic by focusing on them without having to necessarily focus on their external threats. It’s difficult not to cheer for them and hope they can survive the wilderness because they’re complicated, compelling characters with some inner and outer conflicts, who both go through high and low moments that make them more real. If you think these characters and their journey aren’t interesting, perhaps you should just watch a Michael Bay movie instead.

TL;DR

The Edge is simply a compelling and engaging drama about two complex men with conflicting goals and ideas trapped in the wilderness, hoping to escape the ferocious bear that is hunting them. The acting is terrific. The script is phenomenal with lots of subtlety and ambiguity that allows the audience to get involved. And even the moments of action that occur are exciting and scary. I would gladly watch this movie any day of the week.