Me in Chicago in the Summer of 1999 for Cow's on Parade.  Behind me is Marilyn Moo-Roe.

Yvonne outside my apartment in Daytona Beach, with Lucy and Linus

The review

Let me say that everything we went through to see this movie was well worth it.  On The Edge is a great movie and Jonathan is simply brilliant.  I mean, the scene in the car with Cillian literally made the 1300-mile flight and 4-hour drive worth it.  I think this will be one of his more memorable scenes for years to come.

I have to say that I am not a great movie fan. I like movies, but I don’t know directors or actors or production stuff.  So, if some of my terms are lame or incorrect, I apologize in advance.   I have friends who direct and act and I know they are cringing at this review, but these are just our thoughts and feelings about the film.

First off, Yvonne and I both reacted the same to most everything in the film and we have the same general opinion about it, which isn’t surprising since most of you know we share a brain. 

Believe me, it stopped being strange or freaky after the first year we knew each other. Now it’s just a fact. That’s why you’re only reading one review and not two. Our opinions on it were pretty much the same.

I think that the acting was great. I am going to use the actor, rather than the character names, to avoid any confuse with Cillian/Jonathan and JJ/Toby.   Cillian (outside of the George Jefferson walk, which annoyed me through both showings) is a very talented actor.  He did a nice job with the material and really seemed natural in this role.  Jonathan’s role was easily the most empathetic.   While I was happy to see Jonathan get so much airtime, I would have been even happier to see his character get more of the film’s focus and have the love “triangle” fade into the background.

The first thing, besides the accent that I noticed, was that Jonathan had absolutely NO mannerisms that I was familiar with.  After watching him for years on GH and seeing all his work repeatedly, Yvonne and I were stunned that he seemed like another person all together.  Gone were all the familiar expressions and mannerisms that we had seen in the past. It was truly awesome to see him so immersed in a character.  There was only one half second, in the car scene with Cillian, that I thought I saw something familiar, but it morphed into a different reaction all together. I was very excited at this, because to me, so many actors rarely shake actor traps and mannerisms. It’s like I never forget the actor and get into the character.  But once the first few scenes were over (and I got used to the accent) I forgot about Jonathan and focused on Toby.

The accent was great.  In the beginning, Jonathan’s voice was so soft that I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but then as the film went on, the accent seemed to get stronger and stronger. I didn’t even realize that he was “doing” an accent because it was so very natural and blended well with the other actors.  I really was impressed with Jonathan’s ability to create such a realistic character while maintaining a different accent and a different set of mannerisms.

I have to whole-heartedly second that last opinion. Most actors have a hard enough time acting their part with their own language, diction and familiar manners. It was absolutely amazing for Jonathan to deliver such a strong and convincing performance, all while perfectly executing an Irish accent and completely different mannerisms.

As for the film as a whole, I have to preface this part by saying that I have a Masters in Psychology, which makes it difficult for me to watch or read anything that deals with psychological areas.  I tend to get over involved and technical, which makes it hard to sit back and enjoy the film.  That said, I think that OTE could have been put together better from a technical point of view.  I would have been happier if we had gotten more character development for Toby and if there had been more therapy scenes for the group as a whole.

There was very little information given to us about the facility they were in, except that those who were residents had to wear pajamas and Dr. Figure (the shrink) didn’t give out drugs.  I wanted to see the kids explore their feelings more, or express a deeper level of angst than was shown. It was hard to remember at times that this was a mental facility and not a dorm.  And yes, I wanted to know if Toby’s family visited him, if he was making any progress in his therapy and what his general condition was.  That information, coupled with more Rachael/Toby scenes would have made the ending better for me. 

It seemed like there were some scenes involving Jonathan/Rachael/Toby that were missing or had been cut out of the film. I would have liked a few more establishing what kind of relationship that Toby and Rachael had and how they were impacted by the arrival of Cillian’s character.

The ending was hard to take for me. Not because I didn’t buy it, but because I totally disliked the person over whom it was being done for. Rachael was one sick puppy. To be clinically correct, she had serious issues and in my opinion was definitely in need of serious psychotherapy.  But it’s very hard to empathize with such a character. However, the fact that Toby obviously felt so much for the girl really broke my heart.  I wish we had gotten more scenes between these two to further develop and explain the relationship.

Here is my two cents on the whole Rachel/Toby thing: It was highly underdeveloped, which made the climax so unbelievably empty and cruel. I am a strict believer in character development, and this movie was sadly lacking. JJ did wonderful with the material he was given, but that didn’t make up for the fact that the character itself was not explained very well at all. The writers could have done so much more with the three talented actors they had, but sadly, did not deliver.

That said, this was a great film, with beautiful imagines and a nice plot.  Any film that allows us to see Jonathan express such a wide range of emotions is a keeper.  I can’t begin to tell you what a great job he did with his role.  The acting was superb and the nuances that he brought to the character really made the film.  I can honestly say that I wouldn’t have liked the film nearly as much if Jonathan had not been playing Toby.

Ditto for me!! Then again, that seems to have been the case with the last few movies that Jonathan has made.

A few comments about some of Jonathan’s scenes

The first time we see Jon, he’s in pajamas and a robe.  He makes this joke that the shrink totally misses and gets the group laughing.  I loved the look on JJ’s face when he made the joke and realized that the shrink didn’t get it. It was funny in a “who’s the crazy one” kind of way.

The scene with Toby and Cillian breaking out of the hospital and going for a beer was great.  I loved seeing how Toby changes his clothes and adds that wonderful jacket to his pajamas.  And oh my, we get to see him be bad in this flick. I mean, he smokes and he holds beer in several scenes.

There was just a wonderfully endearing quality to Toby, a sense of adventure and empathy that radiated from him during the entire movie. It made you want to know more about him, and in my opinion, it totally diverted attention away from the main character played by Cillian. 

Yvonne and I both loved the little move that JJ did in the street after they eluded the men chasing them. I can’t really explain what he did, but it had this lovely little body wave quality to it that was cute.  It was funny in a flippant, yet non-confrontational way.

The much discussed car scene is the best part of the movie.  I just can’t say enough about it. Yvonne and I talked about it for days.  Toby and Cillian’s character are sitting in a stolen car, discussing why they were in the hospital.  As Toby tells the story of his brother dying and how his last cup of tea stayed warm longer than his brother’s body,  you could literally see people holding their breath in the theater, hanging onto his every word. 

This has to be one of the best scenes of JJ’s career, up there with the rape stuff with Tony G. on General Hospital and the last few scenes of Skeletons.  We get the single tear falling perfectly down his cheek, yet the accent never waivers a bit.  I can’t even imagine how JJ managed to give that emotional of a performance, while keeping the accent perfectly level and completely real. 

The poetry scene was very touching.  Toby takes a moment to read Rachel a poem he’d written for her.  The scene was so great. JJ’s accent was perfect, as was his body language. You could tell that he was crushing on this girl, and that he’d written this eloquent poem for her, yet didn’t have the ability to tell her about his feelings.  They hug at the end of the scene, and you can just sense that Toby is trying to soak up the girl’s very essence.  It’s almost as if Toby is trying to save both of their lives with that hug.

There are several great JJ moments in the film. I loved seeing him hotwire the car, and to see him doing so many “bad” things like curse, drink and smoke was different too.  The bowling scenes are hilarious. I mean, as a horrible bowler who once threw the ball backward toward where the people were and not down the lane, I could totally relate. I mean, you get one outing a week from the nuthouse, and it would have to be doing an activity I suck at.  I just have to say that I KNOW all the ladies will LOVE the bowling scenes.  Great wardrobe choices…lol.

The scenes toward the end of the movie build to a feeling of dread. You know something is going to happen just by the music and the interactions between the major characters. I loved the scene where JJ sees Cillian and Rachel together.  You can see the pain emanating from his body.  We also get to see him do this little dance move that is too cute for words. Jonathan’s last scenes are great. I just can’t express how wonderful he is in this movie.  All that was missing from his last scene was a song by the Cure.

I have to say that I WAS surprised by the ending. Yvonne kept saying what she thought was going to happen, which did, but being Mary sunshine that I am, I was CONVINCED that the movie was building to a ending to lead the viewer into a false sense…so at the end you’d be totally surprised.  I was wrong. Very wrong.

Mary Sunshine I am not, so it was easy for my brain to go in the direction that the movie would eventually head down. I kept telling Cyn, but she said that it wouldn't happen, that they wouldn't do it. I love being right...  :o)

There is some really good acting in this movie. Cillian definitely has a bright future ahead of him.  He’s got a bright stage presence and an interesting manner about him that makes him interesting to watch on film.  I don’t know why he walked like George Jefferson at times in the movie, but it’s the only thing about him I didn’t like.  I would have liked to have seen more of Steven Rea as he’s always great.  There are some minor characters that really add to the movie as well, like this old lady who has her spot by the window and Nick, who is in therapy with Toby and Jonathan. I also thought Jonathan’s older brother was good too.

The last thing that I want to say is the soundtrack is AWESOME. I have NEVER seen a soundtrack that so adequately reflected a movie’s tone and action so well. I was so amazed by the music and how it accentuated the movie’s actions and emotions. I want to get this soundtrack asap. The last song that is played is brilliant. I can’t remember the name of it, though I actually told someone on the list a few weeks ago, but it’s a great soundtrack.

We got to see the last two showings of the movie. The guys at the ticket counter thought we were a bit strange seeing the same movie twice in a row, but heck, we weren’t going to not see this film back to back.  It was an awesome experience. I can’t wait to see it again.

We spent the rest of the weekend running around San Antonio (we saw the Riverwalk and the Almao) and we went back to Dallas a day later. Needless to say, we drove around the state of Texas a LOT and had tons of fun. 

I got to meet Yvonne’s charming father and finally got my hands on her poor computer. You all should have seen the look on her face as I took the poor computer apart bit by bit. It was too funny. She looked shellshocked.  I think she was amazed when I put it back together and it actually booted up. Of course the rest of the upgrades I did didn’t work, but that’s another story.

A story that finally has a happy ending. But yes, any time anyone takes my computer apart, I freak out because I don't know how to mess with it. After the past week, I finally know how. So I don't think I'll be nervous anymore!

I hope that you all get to see the movie. It is such a great film.

It is a wonderful movie! I don't understand why it is not being widely released. I think that a lot of people would enjoy it, if only they had a chance to watch.