At a critical moment in the billionaire vs. bear thriller “The Edge” (1997), protagonist Charles Morse (Anthony Hopkins) espouses a rather odd theory of what kills most people stranded in the wilderness—shame. There are certainly many mean beasts in today’s “Man vs. Beasts: Alaska Edition” episode of Be Reel. But David Mamet’s script for “The Edge” might have a point. When terror takes hold in films like “The Edge,” it’s often not the gray wolves, and Kodiak bears that doom the humans. People just can’t set aside their bruised egos and previous missteps to head south and find rescue.
Today, we’re talking about “The Edge,” which turns 25 this week. Is it a somewhat middling ’90s dad-core thriller? You bet, but it’s also a totally underrated skeleton key for understanding the careers of its two leads: Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin. With Lee Tamahori at the helm (fresh off his breakout, “Once Were Warriors”), the two stars elucidate some of their best, if not always, celebrated qualities. For Hopkins, it’s his prickly, polite discomfort with the emotions of others. For Baldwin, it’s a motor-mouth smarm that often fits him better than leading-man gravitas. Oh, and then there’s Bart The Bear. He really put all 1,500 pounds of himself into terrorizing these men.
After fully dissecting the adventure-cum-murder-plot bona fides of “The Edge,” we trek into “The Grey” (2011). This emotional wasteland of a Liam Neeson thriller swaps bears for wolves and Tamahori’s wide-screen majesty for director Joe Carnahan’s bleaker portrayal of relentless winter whiteout. We break down the film’s terrific use of sound, its preposterous use of women characters as totems, and its gutty ending. Finally, we close on Jeremy Saulnier’s “Hold The Dark” (2018). Still bleak and still invested with murderous wolves, this last entry blends a gritty crime-novel narrative with maneater tracking. Jeffrey Wright stars as a writer/wolf hunter who agrees to help a mother (Riley Keough) kill the wolves that took her child. The director of “Blue Ruin” and “Green Room” proves himself as skilled as ever with atmosphere and sudden violence in “Hold The Dark,” but the film may outmaneuver its best qualities by consistently splitting its narrative between Wright’s gruff hunter and Alexander Skarsgard’s vengeful father character.
In conclusion, we’re sure the people of Alaska are lovely. Maybe go during the summer; find a tour guide who knows animal safety. Thanks for listening.
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