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EDIE
Director: Simon Hunter Cast: Sheila Hancock, Kevin Guthrie, Paul Brannigan, Amy Manson, Wendy Morgan MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 1:42 Release Date: 9/6/19 (limited); 9/13/19 (wider) |
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Review by Mark Dujsik | September 12, 2019 Sometimes a film doesn't have to do much more than to tell us a good story well. That's the case with Edie, in which a woman in her 80s decides to live out a life-long dream and climb a 2,400-foot mountain. The whole point of director Simon Hunter's film, written by Elizabeth O'Halloran, is to inspire us with the unlikely daring at the heart of its tale. It does—and not just because of the fictional part of the enterprise. The setup is very simple. Living in London, Edie (Sheila Hancock, who was 83 years old at the time of filming—a detail that's actually quite relevant, as will become clear in a bit) has spent more than 30 years as the primary caretaker for her husband, who suffered from a stroke. Before that, he was controlling and had a temper, preventing her from doing much of anything with her life. She used to go on adventures with her father, and the two were supposed to have one more: a hike to and up Suilven, a mountain in the northwest of Scotland. The husband denied her the chance. Now, the husband is dead. Edie's daughter Nancy (Wendy Morgan) resents her mother after discovering Edie's diary. There's nothing left to do but to complete that decades-old idea for a last adventure. The plot is mostly about preparing for the climbing hike. After literally bumping into each other at the train station, Edie makes an arrangement with Jonny (Kevin Guthrie), who works at a sporting goods store owned by his girlfriend Fiona (Amy Manson), to train her for the trek. The curt and passive-aggressive woman slowly opens up to her teacher, and the two form a lovely friendship. That's about it. O'Halloran and Hunter don't try for anything more than the comedic preparation and the development of the friendship, and they really don't have to. Hancock's naturalistic performance and naturally charming presence pretty much carry the entire affair. The kicker is the hike itself. There's no trickery here. That's Hancock doing all of the walking, the rowing across a lake, and the climbing. Hunter gives us plenty of done shots, moving back and up from medium shots of the actress to the expanse of the terrain, to prove it. Edie doesn't just tell an inspiring story. It shows us one in action. Copyright © 2019 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
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