Edge of Darkness – 2010
Back after six years between acting gigs, Mel Gibson stars in Martin Campbell’s Edge of Darkness, a sorrowful, gritty and intelligent revenge thriller. Not only is Mel back, he gives what may be, or is close to, his best performance as a grief riddled father searching for answers about his daughters brutal murder. Gibson is no stranger to revenge style films, but there is no coyness or zany humour here; none of the off-the-wall kookiness showcased in films such as Lethal Weapon or Payback. This is a serious and touchingly tragic exercise that is being unfairly lost in the shuffle of Gibson’s personal life and what may be viewed as clichéd material.
What likely will throw some off is the lack of Taken style slaughter. This is more a political thriller, punctuated with calculated instances of brutal violence and it is that deliberateness that makes it a better film than many of its ilk. Joining in with an expectedly stellar performance is Ray Winstone as a shady government operative who drifts in and out of Detective Craven’s (Gibson) investigation. His scenes with Gibson are often the best sequences in Edge of Darkness and with ample intelligent fist-pumping one-liners a sense of entertainment is never lost in self-seriousness.
The plot of Edge of Darkness is complex to be sure, but it is not however convoluted or confusing in any way. Also to its credit, shameless exposition is not used to forward the plot; in fact there are certain plot points that are left unresolved, but not in a frustrating way. After Det. Cravens daughter Emma is gunned down in cold blood, he begins to look into the government defence contractor at which she was employed. As layers become stripped away, he uncovers a high-ranking conspiracy which begins to mount both with regards to body count and danger.
As I alluded to, when the political conspiracy aspects of the film do give way to revenge style leanings, the instances of violence are uncompromising and jarring. With Gibson behind the gun, so to speak, his now grizzled face and fierce, sorrowful stare are nothing but perfect. Gibson nails his
