Review: Poet biopic requires a sharper edge

The Edge of Love ***
EIFF Opening Gala, Cineworld

IF A film could be reviewed merely on the quality of those attending its premiere, then The Edge of Love, the 2008 Edinburgh International Film Festival opener, would receive a guaranteed five stars. Taking to the red carpet outside Fountainpark's Cineworld last night were a host of the great and the good, from Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller to Joely Richardson – even Sir Sean Connery was on hand to offer his support.

Leading the cast, both Knightley and Miller bring with them a set of prejudices from a public more used to seeing the former swashing her buckle alongside Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean and the latter targeted by the paparazzi at yet another nightclub opening in London's West End.

Thankfully, any preconceptions about the pair can be left safely at the door of the multiplex as Edge of Love takes us back to London during the Second World War, where celebrated Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (Matthew Rhys) bumps into childhood sweetheart Vera Philips (Keira Knightley) and old memories are reawakened, to the initial annoyance of his wife Caitlin (Sienna Miller).

Due to a desperate financial situation, Dylan and Caitlin are soon living with Vera, while her plan to remain emotionally detached during the war soon goes awry when she meets and falls for soldier William Killick (Cillian Murphy).

At first it's Thomas who needs both women to be near him, his obsession with Vera (whom he calls his air) and his love for Caitlin (his earth) growing by the day. As the weeks pass, a friendship grows between the four that will be both their saviour and downfall.

Apart from seafaring blockbusters, Knightley's best-known role is that of Cecilia Tallis in 2007's Atonement and it is with this picture that Edge of Love will inevitably be compared. While there are surface similarities – a wartime setting, young love, sexual politics – this isn't Atonement II. Where Edge of Love tries to make its mark is in the much-vaunted relationship between its female leads.

Curiously, while the pairing of Knightley and Miller is a strong one, and we are continually told their friendship is strong, it's often hard to actually believe in it. As Caitlin, Miller is given much opportunity to emote, it's just that the emotion doesn't always reach the audience, leaving the viewer as cold as the Welsh coast in October. The film also occasionally grinds to a halt as the script tries to get too deep, but these moments are thankfully rare.

It's worth noting that the pre-publicity makes it clear this is a Dylan Thomas biopic that sidelines him in favour of "his" women. In reality, it's the understated performances of Matthew Rhys and Cillian Murphy that help balance the emotions. In particular, it's the shambling, sometimes childlike, but always erudite, Dylan that impresses most.

With a full armoury of silent glances at his disposal, Rhys continually reins scenes back in whenever other elements get overly ponderous, giving the film its real edge.