‘The Edge’ Review
Features: James Anderson, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Steven Finn, Andy Flower, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen | Written by Gabriel Clarke, Barney Douglas | Directed by Barney Douglas
The Edge, directed by Barney Douglas, follows the England Cricket team between the infamous years of success from 2009 to 2013. Beginning in late 2008 with England on a destructive path of self-annihilation during their world tour, following the teams slow rebuild with refreshed ideas resulting in a newfound success on a world stage, touching on the inevitable downfall and mental fatigue that comes with the global unification of serial winning.
First and foremost, The Edge is not merely a simplistic film about the sport of cricket. It is not a one-note love letter of which its main focus is to preach to the already convinced choir of fans. It is far from it. It is a film that works wonderfully on two levels. Firstly, for the already ordained on the subject matter, the documentary works as a beautiful time capsule of success, and secondly, for both the fans and newcomers to both the sport and subject matter, it shows the real depth and danger these infamous players were struggling with under the surface.
Barney Douglas’ film is an explosive, energetic investigative journey through the physical and psychological ramifications of a team pushed to the limit and the burnout of their physical and mental decline. The Edge is a profound and poignant exploration of masculinity. Following a group of patriarchal men and esteemed icons at the height of success, protecting their inner demons with excessive bravado. Douglas manages to dig deep, and the revelations of trauma and self-inflicted abuse in the means of consecutive success are harrowing, albeit utterly inspiring to hear.
The stories and the incredibly rich characters are intoxicating with a tremendous amount of weight and layers behind each subject, and while the players sacrifice is undoubtedly a significant factor of the feature the film also expresses the monumental success they achieved. A terrific balance of tone is implemented for a rollercoaster ride of emotional value. The feature has a perfect running time of ninety-five minutes and equally great pacing by editor Steve Williams, with a rousing score by composer Felix White, that perfectly complements the captivating material at hand.
The Edge is currently touring the UK; to find out where its playing check out the official website. The film is also available on DVD now.
