Edie

As darknoir has already noted in a previous review, the stunning Scottish landscape is beautifully filmed and may be the real star of this film. Having said that, Sheila Hancock is great as Edie, the rather abrasive old lady who has travelled to Scotland to fulfil her long held dream of climbing a mountain. And not just any mountain, but the iconic crag of Suilven with its sheer cliffs. This is no walk in the park under any circumstances. It's not the kind of mountain with a handy carpark right at the bottom of its slope. It's a healthy walk across bogland to even get to the foot of this imposing rock in the landscape from the nearest village. And Edie is in her 80s. As is Hancock, who apparently had to concquer the mountain on foot, just the same as her character, and who may be the oldest person on record to have done so. Good for her.I loved seeing Hancock in this. A nice change from the usual grand dames of British octogenarian acting, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Vanessa Redgrave. Also really liked Kevin Guthrie who plays the young man whom she persuades to be her guide.Nice film, nice acting, nice message. Don't give up on your dreams. And while it may never be too late to fulfil attainable wishes during a lifetime, it may become harder the older you get. And maybe there's another lesson here: don't wait too long before doing what's important to yourself. Don't let a bully take all your dreams away. Or it could be I'm just reading that into it. Anyway, if you enjoy a film with much nature and glorious landscapes, with realistic characters and without exciting action scenes, this is a nice one to watch. I'm glad I did.

A wonderful film that takes the viewer on a journey not only in terms of location but also in terms of what we perceive as Edie's persona. “Edie” in part is a film about what might be possible as opposed to what one might reluctantly be expected to accept as one's lot in life, and to that end “Edie” is a very uplifting story. There is a short “Making Of” feature with the DVD that is definitely worth looking at in which the work ethic of everyone involved is explained and it shows just how much inspiration lead actress Sheila Hancock was to the crew.There could be odd bits that I might have preferred done differently – not least, a subplot that is shown, being concluded , but this is outweighed by all the positives that can be taken from the film – location, cast, story, cinematography, music, directing which are all excellent.If a synopsis is known or even if the DVD cover has been seen, then it goes without saying that there's plenty of stunning views to be seen in “Edie”, and these stunning visuals also have a wonderful orchestral soundtrack to complement them (there's a small feature regarding the soundtrack on the DVD that is worth a look if you like the music).I think that this is a great film, maybe not the best role that Sheila Hancock has ever been given but it is still a wonderful film. Sheila was 83 when she made this film and her role could well have been a physically demanding enough one for someone younger and so I'd say Ms Hancock deserves all the praise she receives for her portrayal of Edie – I thought she was brilliant.On the DVD (ASIN B07D94VJ53)“Edie” (1 hour 37 minutes)Scene SelectionExtras: Behind The Scenes of “Edie”“To Climb a Mountain” (6 minutes)“Recording the Music Score” (2 minutes)“Theatrical Trailer” (2 minutes)Set UpEnglish 5.1 Dolby DigitalEnglish Audio DescriptionEnglish SDH Subtitles

Living in a rural Scotland, I had actually seen this film in our visiting Screen-machine and loved it. My husband wasn’t with me so I took the opportunity to rent on Prime for us to watch together. It’s an amazing film, stunning scenery, great characters and Sheila Hancock does a wonderful job. Wow! She deserves recognition for this feat of endurance. I know it’s fiction but to make this film at her age is stupendous.I think I can honestly say, inspirational.