On the Edge (2001)

On the Edge (2001), directed by John Carney, is one of those movies that are so incredibly cheesy that it doesn't even attempt to be different from the typical cheesy flick, other than that the film follows mentally ill kids. Except, that's not really exceptional, since Manic (2001) came out the same year and is also on the mental hospital genre. 

I liked the first thirty or so minutes of On the Edge, before it got so incredibly average and predictable. The getting used to Cillian Murphy's exceptionally blue eyes and Irish accent probably also added to it. 

Before I go ranting about how it couldn't be any more different from the cookie cutter mold, than being the cookie cutter mold itself, I'll tell you what I liked about it.

Cillian Murphy's a nice character. He begins as a suicidal kid and turns out all right. He's a crowd pleaser and the plot's a crowd pleaser. Therefore the ending satisfies most of the stereotypical happy endings only demographic. The soundtrack's also pleasing with a bunch of The Jam and a handful of classic songs from "Singing in the Rain" to "The Entertainer" and a handful of Maurice Revel. 

Gorgeous soft hues

So other than Cillian Murphy, happy endings/crowd pleasers, and soundtracks, there's also tender soft hues for the film and not too shabby cinematography. I especially adore the once in a while long shots.

However, the movie follows the typical Hollywood movie to the very goddamned fiber that it just kills me. The characters are all stereotypical Breakfast Club-by (as in high school teenagers), and even the cinematography is completely average. No innovative angles, nothing I've never seen before. It's exactly the style of the late 90s and early 2000s. 

The whole film seems borrowed. The psychiatrist whose character is never developed and played by Stephen Rea is like Robin William's character in Good Will Hunting (1997). They say it themselves in the first twenty minutes. The psychiatric hospital looks like Ireland's version of a similar facility in Rain Man (1988). But I guess most psychiatric hospitals just have green landscapes for their patients to enjoy.. 

Reminds me of Rain Man (1988) 

Are all bowling scenes shot the same?

The bowling scenes reminded me of The Big Lebowski (1988), and similar scenes in cinematography and etc. can still be seen in films such as She's Out of Your League (2010).

Cillian Murphy fans or just fans of this film in general may get peeved and tell me to piss off and that I'm missing the bigger point and theme of the movie which is, "Life is worth living". I haven't seen that many films on mental illness but I've seen a couple. There's the most recent, It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010), then you've got the previously mentioned Manic (2001), and a couple of other flicks too which I really can't remember right now. The United States of Leland (2003) takes place in a juvenile detention center but is definitely similar. 

Regardless, sure, the point of the movie is to live, but such a noble message doesn't mean the movie can't suck. And sadly, noble cause or not, this movie is literally the definition of a "B" movie. 

3/5