A wayward hot-air balloon crashes into the ground and takes off again and that makes all the difference. Such is the start of this latest film from the director of Changing Lanes. As a matter of fact, you could think of Enduring Love as a less expensive, less interesting and less successful Changing Lanes.
Philosophy prof Joe is one of several would-be rescuers of the runaway balloon. All the men drop off in time but one, who falls and dies. The whole incident deeply affects the high-strung academic, as does the creepy come-ons from gay stalker Jed. As Joe develops increasingly facile theories of love, his own romance with the equally high-strung artist Claire unravels. Meanwhile, despite repeated and escalating encounters with Jed, Joe never seems to grasp that his stalker is maybe not all that well upstairs. He certainly never goes to the police, and Claire is unbothered by it all until it's too late.
Despite a stunning opening sequence, director Roger Michell is never sure where his story lies: intellectual grappling with mortality or stalker-thriller. He tries to do two things at once and fails at both.