Reviewed by David Franklin
Stars Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic, Shawn Roberts, Gabrielle Popa, David Aaron Baker, Jay Sanders, Denis O'Hare, Damian Young, Caterina Scorsone
Written by Wlliam Monahan & Andrew Bovell
Certification UK 15 | US R
Runtime 116 minutes
Directed by Martin Campbell
When the daughter of veteran Boston policeman Thomas Craven (Gibson) is brutally gunned down in front of him on the steps of his home, everyone assumes the bullet was meant for him. That is, until Craven finds the loaded gun his daughter was carrying and uncovers clues that point to the involvement of Northmoor, the creepy, private research facility with government contracts that she worked for. I don’t know about you, but I smell a CORPORATE CONSPIRACY!
Edge of Darkness is based on the 25-year-old TV series of the same name, and both were directed by Campbell. In the time between the two, Campbell has directed a varied list of films, ranging from the awful (Vertical Limit) to one stone cold classic (Casino Royale). Edge of Darkness falls somewhere between the two. A paranoid, anti-government, anti-corporation thriller with elements of films like The Parallax View and State of Play, for the most part it’s a satisfyingly grown-up, brutal and serious thriller. Gibson, in his first starring role in 7 years, is on fine form, and looking good; he’s aged, but his thinning hair and craggy face lend him a new gravitas, and that slightly crazy glint in his eyes is still there. Talking of ageing, respect must also go to Martin Campbell, who will be 70 this year: there’s a slickness and intensity to his direction that should be the envy of directors half his age.
So why does it fall short of greatness? Part of the problem is that in the intervening 25 years, the concept of conspiracies involving shadowy corporations and corrupt politcians has become very familiar, and what may have seemed chilling and revelatory all those years ago now seems fairly cliched. The conspiracy itself never seems to overwhelm or threaten Gibson too much. When chased into a public lavatory by two gun-wielding corporate goons, you might expect a tense standoff, but instead Gibson simplys kicks out the window, jumps out, and drives off. Action fans may find themselves letting out a disappointed “oh” at moments like this; the glimpses of action in the trailer are really only glimpses in the final film too.
The familiarity of the plot also extends to the casting: the chief villain of the film is the man that runs Northmoor, Jack Bennett, played by Huston. Not only have we seen variations of the sleazy businessman with a slick facade many times before, I’m pretty sure that on most of those occasions he was played by Huston. The only exception to the familiar casting is Winstone, playing Darius Jedburgh, an enigmatic, intimidating corporate fixer whose motives are never entirely clear. Winstone is given free reign to “Winstone-it-up” to the max, and so your reaction to his contribution will depend on your Winstone tolerance levels. For this reviewer, he’s bordering on self-parody here, and when delivering some of the film’s hard-boiled dialogue (courtesy of The Departed’s William Monahan) the film sails dangerously close to the coast of Cape Giggles. He’s not the guy I would have had stepping out of the shadows.
That said, Edge of Darkness is still an enjoyable ride. You could argue that the lack of action makes a refreshing change; this is a film more concerned with plot and character (the film goes to considerable lengths to detail Gibson’s grief at the loss of his daughter), and in an age of seemingly endless mindless action flicks, Gibson and Campbell deliver the goods in a more stylish, adult and intelligent manner.