SYNOPSIS
A beautifully drawn love story, the film revolves around two feisty, free-spirited women, Caitlin Thomas and Vera Killick, Vera's husband William Killick, and the brilliant, charismatic poet Dylan Thomas who loves both women. Broken promises, passion, betrayal, the shadow of war and the constant threat of imminent death push the protagonists to THE EDGE OF LOVE. By no means a biopic in the traditional vein, the story explores the bohemian underworld of war-torn London, and the intimate complexities of two young couples whose lives and loves become dangerously intertwined.
THE EDGE OF LOVE is directed by the award-winning John Maybury (Love is the Devil, The Jacket) and produced by Rebekah Gilbertson and Sarah Radclyffe. The screenplay is by Sharman MacDonald. The impressive production team includes Director of Photography Jonathan Freeman (Hollywoodland, Rome), Academy Award nominated Costume Designer April Ferry (Southland Tales, Donnie Darko), Production Designer Alan MacDonald (The Queen, Love is the Devil) and editor Emma Hickox (Becoming Jane, Kinky Boots), with music by Angelo Badalamenti (Twin Peaks, Wild at Heart, Mulholland Drive, A Very Long Engagement).
THE EDGE OF LOVE is directed by the award-winning John Maybury (Love is the Devil, The Jacket) and produced by Rebekah Gilbertson and Sarah Radclyffe. The screenplay is by Sharman MacDonald. The impressive production team includes Director of Photography Jonathan Freeman (Hollywoodland, Rome), Academy Award nominated Costume Designer April Ferry (Southland Tales, Donnie Darko), Production Designer Alan MacDonald (The Queen, Love is the Devil) and editor Emma Hickox (Becoming Jane, Kinky Boots), with music by Angelo Badalamenti (Twin Peaks, Wild at Heart, Mulholland Drive, A Very Long Engagement).
CAST
Vera Phillips
KEIRA KNIGHTLEY
Caitlin Thomas
SIENNA MILLER
William Killick
CILLIAN MURPHY
Dylan Thomas
MATTHEW RHYS
Wilfred Hosgood
SIMON ARMSTRONG
Sergeant
BEN BATT
Registrar
GEOFFREY BEEVERS
Midwife
RACHEL BELL
Mr Justice Singleton
PAUL BROOKE
John SPatrick
HUW CEREDIG
Alistair Graham
RICHARD CLIFFORD
Lt. Col. David Talbot Rice
RICHARD DILLANE
Train Soldier
JOEL DOMMETT
Mel
RACHEL ESSEX
Sailor Beating Dylan
CRAIG GALLIVAN
Boy on Train
CALLUM GODFREY
Partisan
SIMON KASSIANIDES
Anita Shenkin
ANNE LAMBTON
Dewi Ianthe
RAY LLEWELLYN
Anthony Devas
ALASTAIR MACKENZIE
Big Joe
NEVILLE MALCOLM
Rowatt aged 1 month
ACACIA PATTISON BIGGS and BETHANY TOWELL
John Eldridge
JONNY PHILLIPS
Boy Soldier
KYLE REDMOND-JONES
Rowatt aged 8 months
LEO ROBERTSON and OLIVIA ROBERTSON
Woman in Yellow Dress
JENNY RUNACRE
Nicolette
CAMILLA RUTHERFORD
Ruth Williams
LISA STANSFIELD
Llewellyn
DIEGO STEPHENS and LANARK STEPHENS
PC Williams
NICK STRINGER
The Crooner
SUGGS
PRESS QUOTES
THE DAILY MAIL
"All four leads are brilliant"
Baz Bamigboye
EDINBURGH FILM FESTIVAL
"I couldn't be happier to be opening this most auspicious festival with this utterly seductive and fascinating film, which stars some of the most charismatic young performers in the business, and affirms John Maybury as one of our most important directors," said Hannah McGill, the event's artistic director. "It's a film that I personally adore, and opening with it is the perfect expression of our commitment to intelligent, impassioned, exciting new film-making." Hannah McGill
GAY TIMES
*****Five Star
LWL
"a film of real beauty"
"striking and absorbing... a rich experience"
EVE
**** Four Star
"Beautiful, bohemian, erotic and indelible, this film will be the making of Sienna Miller; all feisty gorgeous wife to Matthew Rhys [brilliant as debauched poet Dylan Thomas] and vulnerable when his first love, Keira Knightley recaptures his heart amidst the London blitz. The women become friends and then neighbours in wind torn Wales, where Keira and child await the return of her soldier husband Cillian Murphy. But all unravels as boundaries dissolve and passion, betrayal and jealousy threaten to destroy both couples and blow love and poetry to the four corners of the globe"
IN-STYLE
"Sienna Miller is absolutely sensational in this beautifully powerful biopic"
EASY LIVING
"Beautifully shot, sensitively directed, and with great performances that didn't eclipse one another and managed to completely develop the complexity of each of the relationships - agonising, joyous, and completely brilliant."
TOTAL FILM
"A plush mood piece that evocatively captures the boho fatalism of blitzed London"
GQ
"Keira and Sienna deliver the best performances of their lives". "We always knew they were beautiful. What comes as a surprise is that they are both brilliant"
ELLE
"Stylish and bohemian - full of spirit and passion"
MARIE CLAIRE
**** Four Star
"Sex and stanzas collide in this steamy wartime exploration of poet Dylan Thomas (Matthew Rhys) and the women in his life - wife Caitlin (Miller) and former lover Vera (Knightley). If it's hardly a probing take on Thomas ("I do it - sleep with other women - because I'm a poet" is as deep as the dialogue gets), Knightley and Miller conjure considerable chemistry in what emerges as a prickly study of female rivalry"
"All four leads are brilliant"
Baz Bamigboye
EDINBURGH FILM FESTIVAL
"I couldn't be happier to be opening this most auspicious festival with this utterly seductive and fascinating film, which stars some of the most charismatic young performers in the business, and affirms John Maybury as one of our most important directors," said Hannah McGill, the event's artistic director. "It's a film that I personally adore, and opening with it is the perfect expression of our commitment to intelligent, impassioned, exciting new film-making." Hannah McGill
GAY TIMES
*****Five Star
LWL
"a film of real beauty"
"striking and absorbing... a rich experience"
EVE
**** Four Star
"Beautiful, bohemian, erotic and indelible, this film will be the making of Sienna Miller; all feisty gorgeous wife to Matthew Rhys [brilliant as debauched poet Dylan Thomas] and vulnerable when his first love, Keira Knightley recaptures his heart amidst the London blitz. The women become friends and then neighbours in wind torn Wales, where Keira and child await the return of her soldier husband Cillian Murphy. But all unravels as boundaries dissolve and passion, betrayal and jealousy threaten to destroy both couples and blow love and poetry to the four corners of the globe"
IN-STYLE
"Sienna Miller is absolutely sensational in this beautifully powerful biopic"
EASY LIVING
"Beautifully shot, sensitively directed, and with great performances that didn't eclipse one another and managed to completely develop the complexity of each of the relationships - agonising, joyous, and completely brilliant."
TOTAL FILM
"A plush mood piece that evocatively captures the boho fatalism of blitzed London"
GQ
"Keira and Sienna deliver the best performances of their lives". "We always knew they were beautiful. What comes as a surprise is that they are both brilliant"
ELLE
"Stylish and bohemian - full of spirit and passion"
MARIE CLAIRE
**** Four Star
"Sex and stanzas collide in this steamy wartime exploration of poet Dylan Thomas (Matthew Rhys) and the women in his life - wife Caitlin (Miller) and former lover Vera (Knightley). If it's hardly a probing take on Thomas ("I do it - sleep with other women - because I'm a poet" is as deep as the dialogue gets), Knightley and Miller conjure considerable chemistry in what emerges as a prickly study of female rivalry"
SOUNDTRACK COMPOSER'S NOTES
Composing music for The Edge of Love has been an absolute joy.
It started on a trip to London, where I met with director John Maybury. We had lunch and discussed the dramatic potential for the score. His enthusiasm for the project was contagious.
I mentioned the possibility of writing one or two original songs, specifically for the film, which could relate to the four main characters. John was interested right away. I conceded that I mostly write music and asked him if he had ever written lyrics. The response was positive, as John absolutely adores writing lyrics. I asked him to send me a title and a few lines of text. That's what I would need to structure the music for the songs.
Two days later, much to my surprise, I received five full pages of lyrics entitled "Careless Talk". It was just incredible. I studied the words and found that the first page had the absolutely perfect lyric. The words inspired me and the music came naturally.
I was just about to call John to play the ballad over the phone when I discovered a few more interesting lyric lines. One stanza popped out at me. "Soldiers and sailors and planes up above, all careless talk and 'CARELESS LOVE'." Together, with these words, a lively, off-center cabaret musical piece could work in contrast to the Blitz bombings of London. So, I composed another melody that I got really excited about.
When I was finished, I called John and sang a little of the ballad for him. He was just over the moon for it. Then, I performed the other piece over our scratchy cell phone connection, and he was taken with that as well.
Universal Music was getting excited about the film and the film score. Marc Robinson knew that we were looking for vocal artists to record the songs, so he sent over some CD's from his roster of artists. John and I decided it would be great to have Beth Rowley, Madeleine Peyroux, Patrick Wolf and Siouxsie Sioux record these songs.
Keira Knightley was a delight. Her role in the film involves singing in the London tube where people took cover from the bombs overhead. We met over tea and talked about the production and the songs that she would be singing. My advice to her was to concentrate on the meaning of the lyric and sing softly and intimately. I asked her to call me and sing for me over the phone whenever she was ready. She did, and I was very impressed with her conviction and how she was able to so naturally sing in the style of the 40's.
The opportunity to write a dramatic score with original songs for a film is rare and special. I was fortunate to have been involved with The Edge of Love early in the filmmaking process, as that allowed these ideas to come to fruition. It gave me a chance to tailor-make the songs as an integral part of the score.
Angelo Badalamenti
It started on a trip to London, where I met with director John Maybury. We had lunch and discussed the dramatic potential for the score. His enthusiasm for the project was contagious.
I mentioned the possibility of writing one or two original songs, specifically for the film, which could relate to the four main characters. John was interested right away. I conceded that I mostly write music and asked him if he had ever written lyrics. The response was positive, as John absolutely adores writing lyrics. I asked him to send me a title and a few lines of text. That's what I would need to structure the music for the songs.
Two days later, much to my surprise, I received five full pages of lyrics entitled "Careless Talk". It was just incredible. I studied the words and found that the first page had the absolutely perfect lyric. The words inspired me and the music came naturally.
I was just about to call John to play the ballad over the phone when I discovered a few more interesting lyric lines. One stanza popped out at me. "Soldiers and sailors and planes up above, all careless talk and 'CARELESS LOVE'." Together, with these words, a lively, off-center cabaret musical piece could work in contrast to the Blitz bombings of London. So, I composed another melody that I got really excited about.
When I was finished, I called John and sang a little of the ballad for him. He was just over the moon for it. Then, I performed the other piece over our scratchy cell phone connection, and he was taken with that as well.
Universal Music was getting excited about the film and the film score. Marc Robinson knew that we were looking for vocal artists to record the songs, so he sent over some CD's from his roster of artists. John and I decided it would be great to have Beth Rowley, Madeleine Peyroux, Patrick Wolf and Siouxsie Sioux record these songs.
Keira Knightley was a delight. Her role in the film involves singing in the London tube where people took cover from the bombs overhead. We met over tea and talked about the production and the songs that she would be singing. My advice to her was to concentrate on the meaning of the lyric and sing softly and intimately. I asked her to call me and sing for me over the phone whenever she was ready. She did, and I was very impressed with her conviction and how she was able to so naturally sing in the style of the 40's.
The opportunity to write a dramatic score with original songs for a film is rare and special. I was fortunate to have been involved with The Edge of Love early in the filmmaking process, as that allowed these ideas to come to fruition. It gave me a chance to tailor-make the songs as an integral part of the score.
Angelo Badalamenti
SOUNDTRACK DIRECTOR'S NOTES
Angelo Badalamenti is a magician!
The breadth and range of his work as a composer speaks for itself. This work for my film The Edge of Love adds to his already astonishing body of work in the same way that it completes the film - the emotion, humour and pure invention enriches the images just as it supports them. The pleasure of working with this brilliant man is, I think, audible in the very substance of the music contained on this disc. All I really want to say is: Thank you Angelo - angel indeed.
John Maybury 2008
The breadth and range of his work as a composer speaks for itself. This work for my film The Edge of Love adds to his already astonishing body of work in the same way that it completes the film - the emotion, humour and pure invention enriches the images just as it supports them. The pleasure of working with this brilliant man is, I think, audible in the very substance of the music contained on this disc. All I really want to say is: Thank you Angelo - angel indeed.
John Maybury 2008
SOUNDTRACK TRACK LIST
1. Lovers Lie Abed
2. Overture/Blue Tahitian Moon
3. Underground Shelter
4. Hang Out The Stars In Indiana
5. After The Bombing/Hang Out The Stars In Indiana
6. A Stranger Has Come
7. Fire To The Stars
8. Careless Talk
9. Careless Love
10. Love Me
11. Careless Talk
12. Drifting And Dreaming
13. Home Movies
14. Under Fire
15. Maybe It's Because I Love You Too Much
16. Vera Begs Dylan
17. Vera's Theme
18. Holding Rowatt
19. Careless Love
20. Caitlin's Theme
2. Overture/Blue Tahitian Moon
3. Underground Shelter
4. Hang Out The Stars In Indiana
5. After The Bombing/Hang Out The Stars In Indiana
6. A Stranger Has Come
7. Fire To The Stars
8. Careless Talk
9. Careless Love
10. Love Me
11. Careless Talk
12. Drifting And Dreaming
13. Home Movies
14. Under Fire
15. Maybe It's Because I Love You Too Much
16. Vera Begs Dylan
17. Vera's Theme
18. Holding Rowatt
19. Careless Love
20. Caitlin's Theme
BOOK
The Love Letters of Dylan Thomas
The Edge of Love
'Now the threads of halfremembered ideas, the fragments of halfremembered facts blow about in my head. I can write today – only awkwardly and uneasily, nib akimbo. And I want to write so differently: in flowing, unaffected prose: with all the heat of my heart...'
Dylan Thomas is regarded by many as one of the twentieth-century's most influential poets. He remains an iconic figure for lovers of literature and aspiring poets all over the world. The Edge of Love is a beautiful, heart-rending account of the point in Dylan Thomas's life that he was torn between two women. His letters to the many women in his life are among the most beautiful and lyrical he wrote. Provoked mostly by separations, they are cajoling, apologetic, uninhibited, tactical and loving.
This collection includes letters to Pamela, his first love; to Caitlin, his flamboyant wife; and to later loves like Elizabeth Reitel, who was with him on the night he died in New York. Like most great letter writers, Thomas had the gift of writing as if his correspondent stood in front of him. He also used his letters to secure forgiveness, to make excuses or to amuse or deflect. Sensual and earthy, like so much of his poetry, they were all designed to secure Thomas's place in his lover's heart and memory – the purpose of all true love letters.
Includes a foreword by director John Maybury and exclusive interviews with the cast and crew
Available in Phoenix Paperback GBP6.99
ISBN: 978-0-7538-2619-5
www.orionbooks.co.uk
The Edge of Love
'Now the threads of halfremembered ideas, the fragments of halfremembered facts blow about in my head. I can write today – only awkwardly and uneasily, nib akimbo. And I want to write so differently: in flowing, unaffected prose: with all the heat of my heart...'
Dylan Thomas is regarded by many as one of the twentieth-century's most influential poets. He remains an iconic figure for lovers of literature and aspiring poets all over the world. The Edge of Love is a beautiful, heart-rending account of the point in Dylan Thomas's life that he was torn between two women. His letters to the many women in his life are among the most beautiful and lyrical he wrote. Provoked mostly by separations, they are cajoling, apologetic, uninhibited, tactical and loving.
This collection includes letters to Pamela, his first love; to Caitlin, his flamboyant wife; and to later loves like Elizabeth Reitel, who was with him on the night he died in New York. Like most great letter writers, Thomas had the gift of writing as if his correspondent stood in front of him. He also used his letters to secure forgiveness, to make excuses or to amuse or deflect. Sensual and earthy, like so much of his poetry, they were all designed to secure Thomas's place in his lover's heart and memory – the purpose of all true love letters.
Includes a foreword by director John Maybury and exclusive interviews with the cast and crew
Available in Phoenix Paperback GBP6.99
ISBN: 978-0-7538-2619-5
www.orionbooks.co.uk
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