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Beyond Borders

Review by: Elaine Cedrone
Elaine Cedrone@TheCinemaSource.com

Ah – Angelina Jolie. There’s something about Angelina that makes even the straightest of women admit that, if given the chance, they might leave their husband and kids for just one night with her. Perhaps it’s that irrepressible wild streak, or the air of danger and sex that clings to her like a pair of tight leather pants. Personally, I think it might simply be that face; it is, quite possibly, the most beautiful in Hollywood. With her flawless, porcelain skin, wide blue eyes, and those lips – so big that they prevent her from mannequin-like perfection –Angelina’s mesmerizing face is what really sets her apart from other hot young starlets.

In Beyond Borders, lots of things cause Angelina’s stunning face to scrunch up in indignation, those blue eyes to well up with tears, her voluptuous lips to tremble with grief. Directed by Martin Campbell, the film stars Jolie as Sarah Jordan, an American living in London with her wealthy British husband, Henry Bauford (Linus Roache), in 1984. Sarah’s sheltered life is turned upside down one night when Dr. Nick Callahan (the attractive and engaging Clive Owen) barges into a fundraising gala she’s attending and makes a desperate plea for his humanitarian work with starving children in Ethiopia. While the other patrons of the party seem amused and a bit disgusted, Sarah is moved to drain her savings account and follow him to Africa to help in the refugee camps. As her passion for saving lives grows while traveling to dangerous countries throughout the world, so do her feelings for the conflicted, zealous doctor.

Beyond Borders is a film that seems to be stuck in an identity crisis. It could have been a love story, an adventure, or a socio-political drama. Unfortunately, it tries to be all three and doesn’t achieve any of them wholeheartedly. Instead, the movie feels a bit vague in just about every issue and situation. Nick’s moral dilemma and his controversial decision, for example, are still sort of foggy to me – I wasn’t sure exactly why he was forced into the action that he eventually takes. Of course, that also could be attributed to the fact that the problems of the countries that they visit are completely glossed over in favor of the love story between Sarah and Nick.

This is not to say that the love story wasn’t interesting. Owen and Jolie have great chemistry together, and I’d love to see a less-convoluted movie with them as the lead couple. The problem with Nick and Sarah’s forbidden romance, however, is that it pushes the people that they help into the background. Sure, we certainly feel terrible for the inhabitants of the nations plagued with famine, disease, and war. The image of the tiny, emaciated baby crawling ...