“Attention-grabbing floral wallpaper in the hotel bedrooms provides a unifying visual aesthetic, while outside, the filmmakers effectively exploit a freak snowstorm, amplifying the sense of lost souls in isolation.” -Vairety Magazine

‘edge’ is the debut feature film from artist and film-maker ,carol morley, whose docu feature, ‘the alcohol years’ gained great critical acclaim and nominations from a number of award bodies, including bafta. A fading old hotel on the edge of the crumbling cliffs of the east sussex coast is the setting for morley’s character driven feature film. On a cold winter’s day, a disparate group of individuals gravitate towards the hotel’s bleak setting, and gradually, over a two day period, the intentions of these lost souls are revealed. Frozen in the snowy landscape, our characters are forced to confront their demons and hit upon a purpose that connects them all.  

chris richmond – production designer

the burling gap hotel was the base location for the film. The interior hotel rooms were a set build, and built on location. I opted for a selection of heavily aged 1970′s brown wallpapers and dark wooden furniture (the sort your grandparents might still have) which seemed in fitting with the decaying location – trapped in some forgotten age. With regards to exteriors, we took the opportunity to embrace the snow storm which happened at the beginning of the shoot, and rescheduled to shoot all exteriors before the snow managed to melt – which we almost achieved, with the use of a snow machine on only the last day of exteriors! i am glad we decided to go with the snow as it is an alluring and evocative setting which provides the film with a striking, rare framing for its characters and themes. (it hadn’t snowed at that location for 40 years) i will leave you with a quote from charles gant of variety magazine,

“Attention-grabbing floral wallpaper in the hotel bedrooms provides a unifying visual aesthetic, while outside, the filmmakers effectively exploit a freak snowstorm, amplifying the sense of lost souls in isolation.”