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A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

The fact that The Edge is another variant on the old people-being-pursued-to-unlikely-lengths-by-killer-animal theme might turn you off; the fact that it was written by David Mamet should turn you straight back on again though.  Mamet brought his customary wit to this old-fashioned adventure film and Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin are as watchable as ever; Lee Tamahori's direction is taut and exciting and makes full use of the gorgeous scenery.  (For the record, it's a bear that's trying to get to Hopkins and Baldwin, who play a multi-millionaire company executive and his assistant, out in the woods on vacation.)

Jerry Goldsmith was an inspired choice of composer, and The Edge brought the best out of him, with him fashioning one of his most satisfying scores in a while.  The opening "Lost in the Wild" is as gorgeous and sweeping a main title cue as he has written in years; the scene was temp-tracked with Trevor Jones's Last of the Mohicans, to give you an idea what it's like, but Goldsmith's take is infinitely better and more interesting.  It's a piece of music you could never tire of hearing.  Thereafter it's pretty much action and adventure all the way, starting with the thrilling "The Ravine".  The Edge is unusual in that there are no synths in the action music (something Tamahori managed to talk Goldsmith out of) and the composer actually fully orchestrated a lot of the music himself, the first time he had done that since the 1960s.  This results in writing that is even deeper and richer than Goldsmith usually provides.  "Birds" is another thrilling piece, strangely evoking the V'Ger from Star Trek: The Motion Picture for a short while before finishing with a satisfying orchestral flourish. 

"Mighty Hunter" is a more solemn and contemplative piece featuring another nice arrangement of the main theme sandwiched in between some typical oboe solos.  "Bitter Coffee" goes into suspense music territory, with particularly interesting orchestration towards the beginning as piano, pizzicato strings and a muted trumpet punctuate an oboe solo.  "Stalking" introduces one of Goldsmith's most long-lived and effective orchestral tricks, a trombone glissando that sounds like a fighter plane passing overheard and always adds a lot of menace to proceedings; there's a lot of thrilling, adrenaline-pumping action music as well!  "Deadfall" is the longest track and is full of suspense, some of the most effective tension-building material to have come from Goldsmith in recent years (and he always does it better than most, so that's saying something), and because the cue is long, there is time for the tension to actually reach a payoff with some more excellent action music.  "Rescued" is another long cue, and another great one, as all the action and suspense reaches its climax with another rapturous performance of the main theme bringing the underscore to a particularly satisfying conclusion.  There is a bit more to follow, the end title piece, which sees the main theme being rearranged for small jazz ensemble, for no reason other than that there was a little time left over at the recording sessions and Goldmsith and Tamahori thought it might be fun.

The Edge is a great modern-day Goldsmith score for a really entertaining film.  Neither offers us much that we haven't heard or seen before, but both are created so professionally and by people who are so far ahead of others in their field that they make for a great match.  Highly recommended.

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Tracks

1. Lost in the Wild (3:01)
2. The Ravine (4:38)
3. Birds (2:24)
4. Mighty Hunter (1:34)
5. Bitter Coffee (3:03)
6. Stalking (5:47)
7. Deadfall (6:16)
8. The River (2:21)
9. Rescued (6:04)
10. The Edge (2:57)