Movies to Remember – The Edge

They say money does´t buy happiness. Something like that is what billionaire Charles Morse (Anthony Hopkins) felt, who had a lot of money in a life devoid of emotion. This frustration gets intensified when, at his birthday party, he realizes his very young wife (Elle Macpherson), who is a professional model, is unfaithful to him with his photographer, Bob (Alec Baldwin). The party is held in a cabin in a remote region of the United States, under a landlord’s warning which foreshadows the future danger: there are bears in the region and preventive measures must be taken in order to keep them away. Among those present at the party there´s also Stephen (Bob´s photography assistant) and about 8 friends.

During the party we get to know more about the enigmatic billionaire, who´s a literature fan and connoisseur of nature and survival issues. Clearly this is a man of great intelligence, although he hasn´t had a chance to put all his knowledge into practice. However, with all his money and cunning, Charle´s torment is his wife’s unfaithfulness. As they say, lucky at cards, unlucky in love.

The day after the celebration, Bob is doing a photo shoot when his male model gets sick. He then decides to invite Charles to another location to find an Indian who is hunting. Charles accepts and thus the two embark on a plane together with Stephen, Bob´s assistant. During the trip, the tension between Charles and Bob is tangible, and we learn that Charles thinks Bob wants to kill him (in order to keep his wife and money). However, there´s not much time left for tensions as the plane has an accident in midair when a few birds crash in the front glass. A forced landing occurs where the pilot dies, leaving the three aforementioned characters to their fate in a wild and freezing forest.

What follows is a struggle for survival in which Charles has the opportunity to exercise his scout spirit, leading the way with improvised compasses and other tricks learned from the books. But the worst is yet to come, as a big bear notices the presence of humans and begins to chase them with great determination.

With great difficulty they manage to escape, but the bear doesn´t take long to reappear. He seeks the humans with abnormal persistence, which isn´t a matter of hunger anymore. Something like the shark in Spielberg’s film, which goes after its prey as a personal thing.

The result is an epic duel between the human and the animal, with the wild forest as the battlefield. The bear has strength, speed and smell. Humans have intelligence and a plan to trap their opponent. Easier said than done. Frozen, starved, unable to sleep for fear of the bear´s appearance, humans are at a serious disadvantage. If Charles was looking for a challenge in his life, he could have no complaints.

But he still had much to learn. Amid the wild, away from the comforts of civilization, humans saw themselves united against a common enemy. But Charles and Bob´s rivalry still persisted, and we all know how far may Homo Sapien´s ambition go . After all, who is the real enemy? And therein lies the essence of The Edge: our greed may be wilder than the most ferocious animal.