‘Edge of Darkness’ big on darkness, small on edge

By Matthew Jackson

Before I get into anything, I have to make certain that you know you’re not about to read a review of Mel Gibson the man, nor will you hear me give any personal thoughts at all on the subject.

I’m here to talk about a film that he happens to be the star of, and while I may be guilty of any number of snide and superior remarks about how someone’s acting could be better, I am not (nor will I ever be) in any position to hone in on the fouler points of someone’s personal life.

And if that’s not good enough for you, look at the picture that accompanies this review. Now, am I really in a position to judge people with that face?

So, on to business. Gibson returns to helm a film for the first time in eight years as Detective Tom Craven, a Boston cop whose life is shattered when his daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic) is gunned down in front of his home.

As the investigation into Emma’s death begins, everyone, including Craven, is working under the assumption that he was the intended target. But as the film unfolds, it becomes clear that Emma’s work at a nuclear research facility, which Craven knew nothing about, was much more than just a job.

Craven begins to dig deeper in the life of the daughter he barely knew, and receives visits from a mysterious agent known only as Jedburgh (Ray Winstone), who is both a threat and an aid. As he simultaneously attempts to deal with and avenge his daughter’s death, Craven plunges deeper into a personal abyss on a collision course with the self-protective interests of some of the most powerful men in the country.

As a thriller for the sake of thrilling, the film functions pretty well. It starts with a bang (almost literally) and continues at a very tight pace, hitting all the right nerve-wracking notes along the way. And what’s more, it’s one of the few thrillers I’ve seen in the last several years that actually delivers the goods in the final act. Apart from a major plot hole (which I’ll leave to you to find), the flick delivers a pretty satisfying finale.

That said, I’m getting a little sick of the “everything is bigger than it seems” story. The whole small crime shifting into a massive conspiracy thing is getting very, very tired and predictable. This flick pulls it off (somewhat) admirably, but it’s becoming the new great thriller cliché, and even when it’s done well it’s starting to leave a stale taste in my mouth.

And even though it was done well, the film was missing something. Director Martin Campbell (“Casino Royale”) hits all the right thriller notes, and the film looks good, and sounds good (apart from a couple of very painfully forced sound edits), but it feels like someone in this creative team was just going through the motions.

Even after years in the public light for all the wrong reasons, Gibson has lost none of his weight onscreen. He’s still got star power, but at times he feels almost too removed, like his performance is losing some subtlety. It’s all anger, or all grief, and the lines between are far too definite. It might just be that he’s rusty, but this, good though it was, is far from his best work. The best of the film’s cast is unquestionably Winstone, who navigates the moral ambiguity and inherent mystery of his character with a sense of absolute cool.

As many complaints as I have about it (and there are more than a few), I did enjoy this flick. I left with my heart going a little faster than it should have, and a feeling that I really got a payoff for my five bucks, but I also left with a sense that I could have seen something much better, something that didn’t feel so cold. It’s a grim ride, and there are no punches pulled, to be sure, but it hardly took me to the edge.

Matt’s Call: I haven’t seen something that hid this hard on the vengeance meter in a long, long time (nothing American, anyway) and for that this flick deserves some attention, but if you’re looking for some revelatory comeback for a fallen star, this wasn’t it. Maybe next time, Mel.