(Long Island, N.Y.) Edge of Darkness, Mel Gibson’s first starring role since 2002, is an interesting movie. An adaptation of the 1985 BBC television series of the same name regarding a police detective investigating his daughter’s murder, Edge of Darkness has been regularly compared in the press to last year’s Liam Neeson-starrer,
Taken (a personal favorite of mine, reviewed HERE).
However, the comparison is ill-suited. Yes, both films involve fathers doing the whole gumshoe bit and eventually taking the law into their own hands after some malady has befallen their beloved daughter, but that’s where the similarities end. Whereas Neeson’s character in Taken instantly goes into full Harbinger of Death mode and starts spilling gallons of blood everywhere he goes, Gibson takes a far more subtle route at first and tries to stay within the boundaries of the law. Sadly, this not only makes his investigation less effective for him, but less enjoyable for the audience. Here’s a good example of why: Gibson’s character, Thomas Craven, pays a visit to his late daughter Emma’s (Bojana Novakovic) boyfriend, and the two share the following exchange:
Boyfriend: “I know everything about what happened to your daughter, but I’m not going to tell you.”
Mel: “Okay. Maybe you can tell me later if you want. Goodbye.”
Now for laughs, let’s give this same scene the “Liam Neeson/Taken” treatment:
Boyfriend: “I know everything about what happened to your daughter, but I’m not going to tell you.”
Liam: “Oh, really…?”
Fast-forward 5 minutes. The boyfriend is hogtied and being slowly lowered into a vat of deadly acid.
Liam: “You sure you don’t want to change your mind, son? AH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAA”
Now which investigative technique works better, hmm?
Bear in mind, I’m not knocking the character of Thomas Craven for attempting to adhere to the laws he was sworn to uphold. But the idea of this kid telling him that he has all the answers to Emma’s murder and Mel just politely respecting his desire not to divulge said info just killed the movie for me. I eventually recovered and managed to enjoy the film, but that nagging thought remained.
Anyway, Edge of Darkness starts with Thomas picking up twenty-something Emma
from a bus station for a visit. All seems well at first, but the reunion’s cut short when Emma eats a point-blank shotgun blast on the porch of Thomas’ house, delivered by a masked assassin yelling “Craven.” Emma dies in Thomas’ arms, and he is naturally devastated. Obviously this was a planned hit, but while the police believe that it was probably meant for Thomas in retaliation for a previous bust, Thomas soon discovers otherwise.
Starting out on his quest for answers, Thomas questions the contacts in Emma’s cell phone, the aforementioned boyfriend (remember? The guy that knows everything?), and her boss at the shady nuclear weapons company she interned at (played by Danny Huston of X-Men Origins: Wolverine fame). Early on in his hunt, he is contacted and given clues regarding Emma’s fate by a mysterious CIA agent named Darius Jedburgh (Ray Winstone, replacing an earlier-cast Robert De Niro), but is this portly cigar-chomping Brit a friend or deadly foe? Soon Thomas discovers that Emma’s murder is surrounded by a tangled web of political conspiracies and cover-ups, and that to reveal the truth he must begin to break the law himself. Making the decision to get to the bottom of Emma’s death by any means necessary, Thomas soon finds his own life in danger but is prepared to see his crusade through to the bitter end.
Again, I must point out that the comparisons of Edge of Darkness to Taken are rather unwarranted. Edge of Darkness is a much, much slower-paced film, starting out as a pure detective piece and evolving over its runtime into a political thriller of sorts. Yes, Mel Gibson’s character does eventually end up going down the path of violence, but he sadly never becomes a glorious, unstoppable killing machine- just a man pushed to the edge. The slow pace of Edge of Darkness actually works in its favor more than once, as it serves to punctuate various action scenes with a definitive explanation point when they happen. One minute Mel’s walking along, the wind is blowing, birds chirping, all is right with the world, and then BAM! Out of nowhere a car crashes or someone gets shot. It’s a dirty trick on the part of the filmmakers but quite effective nonetheless, especially given how brutal Edge of Darkness can get at times.
As far as the story goes it’s solid, but the cloak and dagger shenanigans surrounding Emma’s death were a tad too convoluted for my tastes. Yes, it’s all pretty much tied up in the end, but it comes across as sloppy as opposed to finely-woven. What did impress me was the emotional aspect of Edge of Darkness, with Thomas’ constant mental flashbacks to Emma’s youth throughout the film giving you a good idea of how much he grieved for his lost little girl. But while these scenes were touching, they started bordering on weird when Thomas actually started talking and interacting with the little ghost kid. But hey, I’m no grieving parent, what do I know?
Acting-wise, Edge of Darkness delivers big-time. Again, Meg Gibson establishes in my eyes that he is one of the most underrated actors in all of Hollywood. Yes, my viewing of Edge of Darkness was tainted by the memory of Mel’s wacky, anti-Semitic DWI arrest rant a few years ago, which is a shame, but I did my best to separate the eccentric man from the capable actor and was able to appreciate his multi-faceted performance, which expertly conveys grief, anger, confusion, and despair. What also impressed me is Mel’s apparent willingness to age gracefully, unlike most Hollywood veterans who desperately cling to the specter of their youth. Gone is his “Lethal Weapon” persona, leaving us with a middle-aged man with wrinkles, thinning hair, and who actually gets winded after scuffles.
The rest of the cast was good as well- Danny Huston excels at playing slimy bad guys, and Ray Winstone was an interesting casting choice as a government “cleaner” who may or may not be experiencing a change of heart after years of doing other’s dirty work (although, due to his thick accent, I only caught every other word he said). I’d comment on Bojana Novakovic’s turn as Emma, but she’s barely in the movie long enough to even notice.
Overall, despite being somewhat slow and messy in spots, Edge of Darkness is a good film that tugs on the heartstrings
and supplies viewers with some good old fashioned action and intrigue. Check it out.
Now where’s my sequel to Taken, Mr. Neeson…?
