Joe and Claire are about to share a romantic picnic when a stricken hot air balloon drifts into the field. With a young boy on board and petrified, and the pilot desperately trying to anchor the balloon, Joe and three other men rush to help. But it will end in disaster and bring into Joe's life, Jed Parry. It's the start of something that threatens to spiral out of control.<br /><br />Enduring Love is an adaptation {screenwriter Joe Penhall} of Ian McEwan's novel. It's directed by Roger Michell and stars Daniel Craig {Joe}, Rhys Ifans {Jed} and Samantha Morton {Claire}. I think the first thing that should be noted is that the film differs greatly from McEwan's excellent page turner. Tho the essence of the source, such as obsessions, loneliness and to endure love, exist in the film, it does have a number of significant changes. If they be for better or worse,? well that's for others to decide should they enter both mediums.<br /><br />Enduring Love is a fascinating, if at times uneasy, viewing. One that is actually hard to sell to potential first time viewers. It struggled to find an audience at the box office on account of its complex themes and unwillingness to pander to the norm. And! it's cold, very cold {something that is brilliantly enhanced by Haris Zambarloukos' photography}. So ultimately it's a film that has no specific target audience, this in spite of some lazy observationists trying to lump it in with the formulaic stalker genre. Personally it took me three viewings and a deep delve into the DVD goodies to finally understand and get the movie. So with that I'd urge those who watched once and hated it to maybe try again. For film's of this type don't come around that often, and when they do it feels like a breath of fresh air. Even if that breath is tainted with a chill brought about by the human condition and all its intricate possibilities. 8/10