Enduring Love

A deliberation of love in the form of a psychological thriller, Enduring Love stays close to the essence and substance of Ian McEwan’s novel and to its London setting. Joe (Craig) has planned an idyllic afternoon in the country with his partner Claire (Samantha Morton), but their outing ends in tragedy when they witness a random accident in which a man is killed. Later that evening Joe reveals how much the incident has affected him, as he struggles with his own feelings of powerlessness and guilt. In the weeks that follow, his obsession with the cause of the accident and the recurring presence of Jed (Rhys Ifans), who was also at the scene, begin to threaten Joe and Claire’s relationship, and ultimately their safety. Acclaimed theatre and screen writer Joe Penhall (Some Voices, The Long Firm) has slightly opened out the novel, the better to reveal its psychological complexities. Working with some of Britain’s brightest and boldest actors, Roger Michell brings a sense of his own curiosity to this study of relationships destabilised by extraordinary events. Like his last film The Mother, this is an adventurous modern love story, firmly located in London but with universal themes.