Enduring Love

2004 drama by director Roger Michell (whose done much better with flicks like Persuasion, Notting Hill and my favorite, Venus). Enduring Love is an adaptation of a Ian McEwan novel that tells the story of Joe, a professor/writer who is a part of a tragic event in the Oxford countryside. Following this event one of the several people there, Jed Perry, begins obsessively stalking Joe. This drives Joe into near madness, affects his career and crumbles his relationship with his girlfriend. It's a creepy little flick about the ripple effect that comes from obsession and delusion. The story is good and the performances are alright, especially those of Bill Nighy and Daniel Craig. But the problem with this flick is that it does too much and too little at the same time. I would've loved to see more of Perry, more analysis of who he is and where he's coming from. I'd also like to see more of the regular lives of Joe and Claire, his girlfriend, as it would make the dissolution of their relationship all the more potent. I read the book and there are storylines that I would've liked to have seen in the film that were totally absent. At the same time I wish there was less focus on Joe. The movie seems almost entirely concerned with Joe's obsession with the tragic even and this stalker. He almost becomes a nutcase. Half the movie is scenes of Joe brooding. Basically this is a very interesting story that was filmed in a way that caused it to feel so distant that it simply wasn't engaging at all. There were far too many sudden logical leaps and stalls. In other words, some things went too quickly and others far too slow. All in all, this was a misfire. Not terrible, but not worth seeking out.

Saturday Afternoon