Enduring Love Review
by Jon Popick (jpopick AT sick-boy DOT com)September 24th, 2004
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Joe (Daniel Craig) and Claire (Samantha Morton) have just sat down in a beautiful Oxford field on a lovely day for a picnic and, possibly, the proposal of marriage. But before Joe can pop either the champagne cork or the question, a disabled hot air balloon slowly floats by with a kid in the basket and a man (Rhys Ifans) desperately trying to stop it from getting off the ground. A few bystanders, including Joe, attempt to pull the balloon back to terra firma, but a sudden gust of wind sets it and its would-be rescuers airborne. Most jump to safety before the balloon gets too high, but one man doesn't and eventually falls to his death.
Some time later, Joe is still quite bothered by the balloon event (and who wouldn't be this soon after seeing a flying Ifans in the palid Danny Deckchair?), and has the nightmares and blisters to prove it. He'd love to discuss it with Claire, but she doesn't seem interested. Conversely, when Ifans's Jed starts popping up like a Stalker of the Week, Joe would rather not so much talk about it. Jed's "coincidental" encounters grow more frequent and more bizarre, but the further away Claire pulls herself from Joe, the closer Jed seems to get. Really nice stuff from Roger Michell, who has directed Ifans (Notting Hill) and Craig (The Mother) before. Like Undertow, Love is something that sounds formulaic on paper, but turns out to be anything but. A couple of scenes really had an affect on me, and I'm a jerk with a stone heart. Then again, I didn't pick up on the double-entendre in the title (it lasts forever, and it's tough to bear).
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
