Spirit of Somerset Maugham lives in ‘The Razor’s Edge’

Press, 12 August 1985, Page 15

Spirit of Somerset Maugham lives in ‘The Razor’s Edge’

hans petrovic

THE RAZOR’S EDGE Directed by John Byrum Screenplay by John Byrum and Bill Murray The spirit of W. Somerset Maugham lives on in this second film version of a young man’s search for the meaning of life in “The Razor’s Edge” (Academy). The story still has the convoluted interworking of a couple of melodramatic sub-plots with Larry Darrell’s (Bill Murray) quest, while the action takes us from Chicago to the trenches of World War I, the French coalmines, a Himalayan lamasery, and back to the fish market and Left Bank of Paris. James Bond was not even a twinkle in lan Fleming’s eye then, otherwise he may have been held responsible for this colourful globetrotting; while Maugham’s rather vacuous mystical posturing is also something from an earlier age. In fact, it is a surprise that this era of more than half a century ago has been so lovingly resurrected in this much more down-to-earth age by John Byrum, who made his directorial debut with “Inserts,” and Bill Murray, the cynical clown of “Ghostbusters.” Byrum explained: “Bill Murray and I are drawn to ‘The Razor’s Edge’ for the

same reasons. We identify with Larry Darrell in his curiosity about a larger world beyond the one in which he was bom.”

Murray added: “It’s a timeless story. I didn’t think the book was particularly funny. Yet Maugham himself had written a screenplay of it years ago (which was never used) and had a note on the first page that read, ‘This is a comedy and should be played rapidly.’ ” This possibly explains both what has gone right and wrong with this version. Maugham’s novel has an air of pretentious seriousness about a supposedly portentous subject — but that could be accepted as typical of the author’s style. It struck me as hilarious, then, in the first film version of “Razor’s Edge” to see pretty boy Tyrone Power as our hero on his personal search for truth and wisdom. I could hardly believe my eyes and ears to see him return from India spouting enlightened platitudes.

Bill Murray is not in this movie for his good looks (although sometimes reminiscent of the younger Richard Burton), but he also does not strike me as an obvious choice for a dramatic role.

In fact, Murray had to do

some fortuitous bargaining to get himself the role of Larry Darrell. He and Byrum, who wrote this screenplay together, were confident and willing to take a chance with “Razor’s Edge,” but convincing Columbia Studios was another story. Murray recalls: “Then Dan Aykroyd called me up with this ‘Ghostbusters’ idea. They had a producer, director, everything but a studio. When people started hearing about it, every studio wanted to do it.

“I told Dan I was trying to get Columbia to give us the green light on ‘The Razor’s Edge’ and I told him to teli them they could have ‘Ghostbusters’ if they do ‘The Razor’s Edge.’ So, 45 minutes later, we had a caterer, a producer, and a director for ‘The Razor’s Edge.’ ”

So, Byrum was given the

go-ahead with Murray, one of America’s brightest new comic actors, to play his first serious role.

The trouble is, however, that Murray finds it difficult to shed his comic image, or his peculiar mannerisms, leaving us always conscious of the comic Murray’s presence instead of the earnest Larry Darrell. Larry is a man obsessed with finding some meaning in life after witnessing the horrors of World War I. He has returned home to his beautiful fiancee (Catherine Hicks) and is offered a highpaying job with an established stock brokerage house. Yet, there remains a spiritual and philosophical void in Larry’s life which wealth and security cannot fill.

Leaving behind the economic prosperity of post-war America, his friends and family, Larry travels first to Paris on a pilgrimage which ultimately takes him to a monastery in the Himalayas, where he seeks spiritual enlightenment of a high order. Years later, his mind and purpose clear, he returns to Paris, where he is forced to confront the people and problems still unresolved from his path.

These people include another girlfriend from his

youth (Theresa Russell) who turns to alcoholism; drug addiction and prostitution after her husband and children are killed in an accident. Larry tries to rehabilitate her with rather disastrous results.

It is this kind of sub-plot that gives the film its soapopera aura, far removed from its other-worldly pretensions.

On the other hand, if you enjoy not-tod-deep entertainment, more of the 1940 s than the current style, this film is made for you. Despite what I said above, I actually like Bill Murray, and quite enjoyed his conducted tour, particularly of Ladakh, in the Himalayas, and the medieval beauty of Srinagar, which was last seen in “A Passage to India.” Equally well presented are the costuming of the 1910 s and 19205; the lifestyles of the rich, the poor, and the decadent; and delightful character performances, such as Denholm Elliott as the wealthy uncle. Larry Darrell manages to survive, with honours, his slide down the razor’s edge of life, but one feels his search for its meaning may have been simplified had he gone to see the Monty Python film on the subject instead.