AllMovie

The story -- told entirely in flashback from Annie's often-crazed viewpoint -- smacks of the sort of fantasy found in mass market romance novels. But director Anne Wheeler, who hit it big with the lesbian-themed romantic comedy Better Than Chocolate, manages to make an adventure of it that will appeal equally to men and women. There's an authentic rough-hewn quality to the film that captures the hardness of life in the Canadian outback in 1850, and the superb period detail -- from the hairstyles to the accents to the fireplace in every room -- accentuates that feeling. Caroline Dhavernas is a real find, and she makes it believable that every man she meets -- the husband, the brother, the constable -- is smitten by her charms. Fans of period dramas looking for something a bit different will find Edge of Madness intriguing and thoughtful, and, if nothing else, starkly beautiful.