On the Edge

After his father's funeral Jonathan Breech drives a stolen car off a cliff and does not die. He is admitted to a psychiatric unit in Dublin, joins the suicide group, argues with his doctor Figure and makes two friends: Rachel and Toby. None of them wants treating; what they want is to know each other. The film neither romanticises the illness nor speaks in clinical language. Jonathan's humour is written as a defence, and the best scenes are in group therapy, where nobody speaks honestly and the doctor knows it. The decision at the end is not a cure, only a decision to continue. John Carney directed and co-wrote with Daniel James, his first film as sole director. Cillian Murphy plays Jonathan, Tricia Vessey plays Rachel, Jonathan Jackson plays Toby and Stephen Rea plays Doctor Figure. It was released on 21 September 2001. Carney would later be known for Once and Sing Street; the tone here is far darker than either. Who it is for: anyone interested in Irish independent cinema and in seeing a young Cillian Murphy. Who it is not for: anyone with a personal stake in the subject. The film talks about suicide directly, some jokes are uncomfortable, and the last section resolves somewhere too corrective.