Critics questioned what dramaric parameters Murray had in mind in establishing his portrayal of Larry Durell, Maugham's Chicagoan, a "dreamer of beautiful dreams", who delays his marriage to affulent anfd prorper Isabel Bradley (Cathrene Hicks, in a largely wasted role), so that he can "find himself" among the Lost Generation in bohemian Paris of the early 1920's. Murray's acting is at turns both jokey (although, thankfully, he does not make us laugh) and anacronisitc, given to inappropriate wise-cracking. Although some found that despite his attempt to probe Durell's convoluted personality with an earnestness at times admirable, Murray was unable to convey either the spirtituality or self-discovery which the Maugham novel clearly delineates. (TRULY DISAGREE!!) The Razor's Edge was, perhaps, too unusual a film for remake and certainly as a vehicle in which to showcase the talents of Murray as a dramatic actor. (That's better!)
AGREE / DISAGREE
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