On the Edge *** (2001, Cillian Murphy, Tricia Vessey, Jonathan Jackson, Martin Carney, Stephen Rea) – Classic Movie Review 8,222

Cillian Murphy stars as a suicidal young man sent to stay in a Dublin psychiatric hospital, where he meets influential new friends, in John Carney’s 2001 Irish drama film On the Edge.

Co-writer/ director John Carney’s 2001 Irish therapy and psychological healing drama On the Edge stars Cillian Murphy as a suicidal teenager, Jonathan Breech, who survives driving a stolen car off a cliff and is sent to enter a Dublin psychiatric hospital treatment centre clinic offering therapy for suicidal patients. Waking up in a hospital after his suicidal drive in the stolen convertible, with his father’s ashes in an urn on the back seat, he is given a choice – going to prison for the stolen car or a mental institution.

There he joins a suicide group under the supervision of Dr Figure (Stephen Rea) and meets and befriends a disturbed young self-abuser, Rachel Row (Tricia Vessey), and Toby (Jonathan Jackson), a boy who killed his brother in a car accident. All three are linked by their family tragic experiences. Jonathan’s alcoholic father has just died and Rachel saw her mother dying in an accident.

Rising young star Cillian Murphy is particularly impressive in co-writer/ director John Carney’s uncomfortably intense and bleak but well-acted, well-written, well-directed heart-tugging drama with elements of comedy. Stephen Rea is also ideally cast and good value as Dr Figure, with whom Jonathan has three group therapy sessions a week.

Daniel James scripts with Carney. It is John Carney’s solo directorial debut.

Also in the cast are Mary Murray, Marcella Plunkett, Alison Coffey, Gerard McSorley, Tomás Ó Súilleabháin and Paul Hickey.

The budget is an estimated $7,000,00.

John Carney was born in 1972 in Dublin, and is also known for Once (2007), Begin Again (2013), Sing Street (2016) and Flora and Son (2023). He is the executive producer of Modern Love on Amazon Prime Video, and co-creator of the Irish TV drama series Bachelors Walk.

On the Edge is directed by John Carney, runs 86 minutes, is made by Hell’s Kitchen Productions, is distributed by Universal Focus and Universal Studios, is written by John Carney and Daniel James, and is produced by Ed Guiney, Arthur Lappin and Jim Sheridan.

The cast are Cillian Murphy as Jonathan Breech, Tricia Vessey as Rachel Row, Jonathan Jackson as Toby, Stephen Rea as Dr Figure, Paul Hickey as Mikey, Tomás Ó Súilleabháin as Nick, Marcella Plunkett as Leslie, Mary Murray, Alison Coffey, and Gerard McSorley.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8,222

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