Plot
Joe has planned an afternoon in the English countryside with his partner, Claire. As they prepare to open a bottle of champagne, a hot air balloon drifts into the field. The pilot catches his leg in the anchor rope, while the only passenger, a boy, is too scared to jump down.
Joe and three other men rush to secure the basket. Just as they grab on, wind rushes into the field, and at once the rescuers are airborne. Joe manages to drop to the ground, as do the others, except for one who is lifted into the sky. They watch as the man falls to his death.
Recalling the events at dinner with his friends Robin, Rachel, and Claire, Joe reveals the impact the incident has had on his battered psyche. The balloon eventually landed safely, the boy unscathed. Joe later goes to retrieve the body of the fallen man with fellow rescuer Jed Parry. Jed feels an instant connection with Joe—one that, as the weeks go by, becomes ever more intense.
Days later, Joe, feeling guilty, spends time trying to map out ways that could have saved the man. One day, he receives a phone call from Jed, telling him to come outside so that they can talk about what happened. Joe looks out of the window and sees Jed standing across the road from his house staring up at Joe's window. Joe is reluctant but Jed promises that he will leave Joe alone if he comes outside and talks to him. After Jed makes some comments that make Joe uneasy, he decides to leave, telling Jed to leave him alone.
Not too long after this, Joe visits a local bookshop where Jed shows up, appearing to have followed him. Joe is confused, though tries to appease Jed, but Jed pursues Joe, telling him to "be brave." Joe is left rattled, troubled by thoughts of that day in the field.
Joe goes to visit the wife of the man who had died. She tells him she believes her husband was having an affair after the police returned a picnic basket for two found in his car, along with an unknown woman's scarf. After hearing this, Joe decides to work out who was with the man on the day he died.
Joe becomes more consumed with the balloon incident, growing distant in his personal life. Jed continues to show up in Joe's personal spaces, sitting outside Joe's apartment, asking Joe to admit to what passed between them in the field, suggesting Joe is sending Jed messages by opening and closing his curtains. After Jed shows up at Joe's job one day, Joe publicly threatens Jed and tells him he does not want to see him at all.
Joe increasingly unravels, his behavior alienating those around him. After waking Claire to a middle-of-the-night raving, Claire eventually tells Joe it is over between them. Angry, Joe pays a visit to Jed and they argue. Jed bashes his head against the wall. Joe then gets drunk before going to Robin and Rachel's house, where he stays the night. When he wakes, his friend tells him Claire just called and asked Joe to come over as Jed is at their house.
Joe races home and enters the living room, finding Jed and Claire sitting next to each other on the sofa. Jed looks as if he has been beaten up and falsely blames Joe. Claire appears to believe Jed's story. Joe loses his temper when out of the blue, Jed stabs Claire with a kitchen knife and she falls to the floor, bleeding profusely. Joe then pretends to accept Jed into his life and they kiss. As they kiss, Joe grabs hold of the knife from Jed and stabs him. Jed falls to the floor, while Joe rushes to Claire's aid and phones an ambulance.
Joe returns to the field where it all started, with the wife and daughter of the man who died. They are joined by a couple who explain that the woman's husband had not cheated on her but was giving the couple a lift in his car. The picnic basket and scarf were theirs, and they were too embarrassed to get involved, as they were having an affair. In the field, Joe tells the man's daughter her father was very brave.
Claire then arrives at the field with a cane. Joe tries to recreate their idyllic day with the same bottle of champagne they never got to drink. He tries to find the words to say to her.
As the end credits roll, a scene in a psychiatric hospital reveals Jed alive, sitting at a desk writing. He turns to the camera and smiles.
Critical response
The film received mixed reviews. Rotten Tomatoes assigned the film a score of 59% based on 99 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "While it strains credibility and isn't ultimately as profound as it might first appear, Enduring Love is still an intriguing thriller fueled by strong performances from Rhys Ifans and Daniel Craig." [2]
Empire , however, voted it number 426 on their list of the 500 greatest films ever made. [3]
At RogerEbert.com, the film received 3 of 4 stars. The reviewer points out the film is among the few dealing with the fact that sometimes, we have a choice about what happens and how we react. It causes the viewer to ask, What would I have done? [4]
The Guardian's Rob Mackie describes the film's opening scene as startling and beautifully shot, a 'vivid, colourful scene - bright red balloon, bright blue sky, bright green grass.' This is contrasted with the subsequently muted and downbeat. Giving the film a 3 out of 5 stars, he describes it as a 'thoughtful philosophical inquiry (which) becomes a less convincing thriller'. It 'intrigues but ultimately disappoints'. [5]
Calling the film a 'jokeless gloomarama,' The New Yorker's Anthony Lane wrote, 'The ideas behind “Enduring Love” may be fascinating, but they don't play; they sulk.' He feels the lack of grip persists to the finale and the climax feels clenched and ridiculous. [6]
Giving the film a 4 out of 5 stars, Nev Pierce of BBC News Online describes the film as, 'An intelligent and gripping dramatic thriller, Enduring Love is a real rarity: a film better than the book.' While admitting it isn't flawless, he calls it both ambitious and vigorous, and worthy of viewers' attention. [7]
