A wonderful day of new starts ends in tragedy, and a new friendship forged in desperation ends in a calculated killing. Roger Michell's "Enduring Love" isn't about building a timeless relationship, it's about surviving a dangerous one.

		'Enduring Love' Rating: R for language, some violence and a disturbing image Starring: Daniel Craig Director: Roger Michell

Based on the novel by Ian Mc- Ewan, it's a captivating story that begins in a pastoral English field where a college professor played by Daniel Craig is about to propose to his girlfriend. When a hot-air balloon crashes nearby, he and several others hurry to rescue the fliers from the balloon's basket. One of the rescuers dies in the attempt, however, and the professor becomes obsessed with the possibility that his actions may have caused the man's death.

Michell fakes to the right with his character study of the teacher's turmoil when out of left field comes another of the rescuers whose obsession over the accident crosses the line to pathological stalking.

Craig ("Tomb Raider," "The Road to Perdition") wisely paces himself in a difficult role with lots of emotional twists and turns. Rhys Ifans ("The Shipping News," "Little Nicky") ratchets up the tension as his character morphs from a stranger at a chance encounter to a spiritually obsessed psychopath with a kitchen knife.