Edge of Darkness
Mel Gibson seeks vengeance in Edge of Darkness
Tuesday, 26, Jan 2010 05:38
Directed by Martin Campbell, out January 29th in cinemas, starring Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic, running time 116 mins.
What's it all about?
Based on the Bafta-winning BBC series, Edge of Darkness tells of Boston homicide detective Thomas Craven (Gibson) who uncovers a startling truth about the relationship between government and big business after his daughter Emma (Novakovic) is murdered on the steps of her father's home.
As an example...
"This is someone armed and dangerous... " - Whitehouse
"What do you think I am?" - Tom
"Everything's illegal in Massachusetts. It's payback for the Tea Party." - Jedburgh
What the others say
"Campbell's top-notch production team yields predictably polished results, but the director's decision to revisit the late Troy Kennedy Martin's teleplay, finally, feels lacking." - Brian Lowry, Variety
"It is an engrossing and thoughtful film that balances bullets and blood with moments of introspection and musings about the nature of family." - Mark Adams, Daily Mirror
So is it any good?
Eight years have passed since Mel Gibson topped a movie playbill. Since M Night Shyamalan's Signs - which, in comparison with the same director's The Happening, looks like a masterwork - Mad Max/Braveheart/Sgt Riggs has endured a chequered spell behind the camera. There's the $600 million-plus global grosses for The Passion of the Christ (2004) or the Golden Globe and Bafta nominations for Mayan adventure Apocalpyto (2006). But there's also the infamous DUI arrest in 2006, complete with the alleged charming labelling of a female police officer as "sugart**s" and, most damagingly, the voicing of anti-Semitic remarks to the Jewish arresting officer. So it's on somewhat shaky ground that Gibson moves from the director's chair to the soundstage. Thankfully, Edge of Darkness not only seals the comeback of a likeable - if dogmatically questionable - movie star, it's also a conventional but confidently made thriller that avoids tarnishing a legacy.
The original 1985 series, starring the late, great Bob Peck and ranked 15th on the BFI's list of the Top 100 Television Programmes, framed an emotional vengeance arc in a world unsettled by the threat of nuclear arms. We might be more concerned about the growth of terrorist cells than 'hot' plutonium cells in 2010, but mistrust of big business, the betrayal of the natural world, and the unique bond between a father and daughter are themes that endure, and are sensibly reprised by Martin Campbell as he directs Edge of Darkness for the second time. The crackle of a Geiger counter might not evoke the same chill as it had 25 years ago but remains unsettling, while Campbell also deserves credit for retaining the tenderness at the heart of the story. A towel stained with Emma's blood is all that remains of her after her shocking death, an emptying sink feels like a lowered coffin, and an untouched bedroom conjures a shrine - though devotees of the original series will be disheartened by the schmaltz added to the storyline, and its risible 'reunion' climax, there's enough fidelity to the source here to avoid sullying your memories.
Campbell and Oscar-winning screenwriter William Monahan effectively avoid plot holes while shoehorning a miniseries into two hours and the legitimacy of the film's tone is exemplified by Ray Winstone. While he doesn't possess the good ol' boy charm of Joe Don Baker's original portrayal of government operative Darius Jedburgh, Winstone nails the character nonetheless, leaving enough unsaid and conveying sufficient menace to feel like the Cockney cousin to the whiskey-soaked Texan of the source. Novakovic strikes a chord with audiences despite the brevity of her screen time while Huston is formulaic but effective as an evil corporate overlord.
Gibson runs the show however, and is largely flawless, reining in his natural comic timing to convey the catatonia of Craven's grief and, when appropriate, handing out head butts and kidney punches as if he's never been away. At times his character feels like the "cop who can't be stopped" of the bargain bin thrillers beloved of Hot Fuzz's Danny Butterman but Gibson's star power has the wattage to forgive him for lines like "I'm the guy with nothing to lose".
Edge of Darkness stumbles at the final hurdle, with an atonal shoot-'em-up sequence and the aforementioned cheeseboard of the last scene. It's also not a thriller that adds a great deal to the genre, focusing on the death of the planet and nobility at the hands of corporate and federal greed. But with some lively direction from Campbell - including a violent central set-piece takes your breath away as the film's pace begins to lag - and a storming return from Gibson, Edge of Darkness is a terrifically made thriller.
6/10
Lewis Bazley