Enduring Love

So, when I saw Road to Perdition, I was immediately intrigued by Daniel Craig. He was sort of new and different. Then I saw Layer Cake (Don't get me started), then Munich, so by this point I was on his wagon. I went back a couple years to a movie I vaguely remembered. It looked creepy, and independent which puts it right in my cross hairs. This should be short and sweet and if I do my job really well, there may be a total of 3 of my readers who actually will want to see it. Joe (Craig) and his lady Claire are having a picnic - which is lovely- when something strange happens. They are hanging out in a park with a handful of other people, all of which are minding their own business, when a hot air balloon, of all things, is abruptly strewn into the sky. I mean, really, a hot air balloon? Apparently in open fields in the UK, hot air balloons are equivalent to what we call squirrels here. None of these picnickers find it strange at all. Anyway, when it takes off the ground with a young boy in the basket and the Captain (Are they considered Captains?) tangled in the ropes, Joe and the other strapping males on the scene go after it to try and secure the situation. They almost have it when a gust of wind, much like the wind we had here this morning - check local listings- gets the balloon really going. All of the do-gooders manage to let go before getting to high except one stupid man. They all watch as he is carried away only to fall to his death some distance away. They all chase it down to check on the man, but resuscitation was not an option. I know in the movies, mouth to mouth can bring someone back from a bullet wound, a stab directly to the heart or the "thinker", drowning, and zombies. Unfortunately for this poor fella, they have not perfected this method if your insides are no longer inside. To me it was one of the most real visuals ever. It just seems that this is what a body would look like from a fall that high. He looked a lot like the final graboid that COULD NOT FLY after all. When it's all over, statements are taken and everyone goes about their lives. Joe is struggling with the incident a lot. It's about to get worse...and weird. Another one of the surviving Samaritans (Biblical reference) Jed (Rhys Ifans - The Welsh place kicker in The Replacements) calls Joe up to "talk" about it and get closure. Joe agrees since this guy probably has the same issues he does. He thinks it will help. A support group of 2 if you will. Jed is way more Loco en cabeza than Joe expects. He ends up having this strange obsession with Joe and his life. His job, girl, groceries - everything that makes up a person. Jed thinks they are "connected". Either spiritually or mentally or some other cosmic thing. He now feels that he and Joe are soul mates of sort. They are the only one's who can relate to each other and what they feel from the situation. The Male/Male stalking turns from uncomfortable to creepy. There is a fine line between "Obsessively Shadowing" and "Stalking." He not only crosses it, but leaps beyond that line. I think after a while Joe wonders to himself if Jed is onto something. He doesn't tell anyone, because frankly, that would be something you would want to keep to yourself. After fighting it and fighting him while threatening him, he seems to be coming around, but like all great thrillers it misses it's turn and goes straight off the cliff and crashes into the side of a mountain. I actually enjoyed this movie, but my wife hated it. HATED IT. It's a good thing this is not her website or you would never have heard of it.

NBM rates Enduring Love - Awesome

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