By Chris Jackson
Making its UK Blu-ray debut, Walking The Edge is a semi-forgotten vigilante thriller from 1985, in which a taxi driver, Jason (Robert Forster, a man whose list of credits is longer than most people’s entire bodies), picks up a lady named Christine who, unbeknownst to him, is on her way to seek revenge on the gangsters who killed her husband and son. When her initial attempt to take the gang all out at once doesn’t quite go to plan, Jason hides her away and uses his street contacts from his side hustles as a bookie’s debt collector to stay one step ahead of the mob. With both groups simultaneously hunting and hiding from each other, the chase is on as the film shuffles along towards its unfortunately less than thrilling conclusion.
After establishing credible motivations for both sides, the film then spends far too long doing not much of anything at all, with Christine holed up in hiding while Jason pootles around town in his cab, collecting money as part of his side hustle and giving free rides to prostitutes (not a euphemism). Things pick up slightly in the last half an hour, but ultimately lead to a flat conclusion that does very little to leave a lasting impression. The overall experience isn’t helped by some very bizarre dialogue, seemingly a combination of mob talk and baseball references that often makes it feel like characters are talking in code. Continuity errors and plot holes pepper the entire movie as well, adding to the general air of confusion.
Two audio commentaries are included, first with film historian Chris Poggiali and film producer Matt Verboys, and another with Walking The Edge director Norbert Meisel and the film’ stars, Nancy Kwan and Robert Forster. A 12-minute interview with score writer Jay Chattaway discusses his work on both Walking The Edge as well as genre favourite Maniac, and a 23-minute chat with former cop turned movie adviser / technical consultant, Randy Jurgensen, delves into his strong history with the cast of the film. A very robotic 10-minute video essay goes rather overboard in its praise of the plot and script, before the disc is rounded off with the usual stills and trailers.
