Enduring Love (2004)

After getting a good Ian McEwan fix with Atonement, I wanted more. Okay, this was on FilmFour and someone told me it was based on a book by Ian McEwan and this happened to be a couple of days after I saw Atonement but hey, who’s counting?

Sadly, this was no Atonement - the film that is. I haven't read either book and am in no place to comment on the literary merits (or otherwise) of either. I really want to read Atonement and also quite want to read this, but the film has not inspired me to head down to my local library to grab a copy.

It’s an absolutely fascinating premise which, again, suggested A+ possibilities. A couple picnicing in a field suddenly catch sight of a hot-air balloon ballooning (excuse the pun) out of control, up into the ether. Containing a small boy. With his grandfather hanging onto the anchor rope. Joe (Daniel Craig) and some other bystanders, including Jed (Rhys Ifans), attempt to come to the rescue and end up floating up heavenwards themselves. Joe and Jed and the grandfather jump but another would-be rescuer leaves it too late. Joe and Jed set out to find him but discover only his body imploded in on itself. Jed then feels an instant, spiritual, connection to Joe which grows and grows throughout the following weeks and ends up leaving Joe questioning his own sanity...

If that sounds like an interesting premise, it is. Sadly, the moment the body hits the floor and the balloon disappears into the sky, things go rapidly down hill. Essentially a story of a bizarre obsession, that obsession is left rootless and ultimately becomes deeply unconvincing to the audience. This is not helped by a below par performance from Craig, who is yet to convince me, and a poor piece of casting in Ifans, who is simply not up to the job of such a deeply unsettled and unhinged character as Jed. The chemistry between the two is poor and the film is ultimately unsatisfactory as a result. Samantha Morton, on the other hand, is typically excellent as Joe’s beleaguered girlfriend Claire. Sadly though the director does not invest enough trust in her character for the amount of screen time she gets to save the film.

A real shame as this could have been genuinely great. Sadly it just ends up being all hot air and little substance.

C+