Review: Edge of Darkness

Boston police detective Mel Gibson reunites with his recently flown in daughter Bojana Novakovic who is suddenly shot outside Gibson’s home, at point-blank range. His fellow cops want him to butt out of their investigations, which assume that Gibson was the target. Gibson isn’t so sure (hmmm, I wonder if her sudden nosebleeds mean something?), and starts to do some digging into his daughter’s personal life. It seems that Novakovic was an employee at a big corporation called Northmoor, headed by icy Danny Huston, which might’ve been up to something a teeny bit dodgy. Meanwhile, a mysterious Brit named Jedburgh (Ray Winstone), claiming to be a private contractor/fixer, is sniffing around, insinuating things to Gibson, seemingly pointing him in certain directions. Whose interests does Jedburgh really serve? And why is radiation detected on Novakovic’s body?

This 2010 Martin Campbell (“Goldeneye”, “The Mask of Zorro”, “Casino Royale”) film version of the Troy Kennedy Martin BBC miniseries (also directed by Campbell) is entirely transparent and plot-wise is barely any different from some of the direct-to-DVD flicks Steven Seagal makes, where he’s looking for the bastards who killed his daughter. Hell, this cheap-looking film even looks like it was shot in Bolivia or Bulgaria, where most of those such films tend to get made. Mel’s no stranger to revenge flicks himself, including the ordinary “Payback”, and this one’s not really any better. Poor cinematography by Phil Méheux (“Scum”, “The Long Good Friday”, “The Fourth Protocol”, “Goldeneye”) doesn’t help, in fact, this overly filter-happy film seems visually inspired by the aforementioned cold, distasteful “Payback”. Meanwhile, this film also features moments of violence that whilst, only few in number, are ridiculously over-the-top to the point of offensiveness and totally unnecessary. I like violence and gore, but only in the right circumstances. I just don’t know what reason there was for such gross, over-the-top violence being in this otherwise dour, revenge-drama which was otherwise kept somewhat grounded in reality. The violence just seemed awkward. Novakovic’s murder, in particular, is ludicrously operatic.

In addition to the revenge and dead daughter element, the plot also gives us another Evil Corporation yarn (<cough> Halliburton <cough>), which I guess at least differentiates the film from the direct-to-DVD muck. That said, it’s still not original in the slightest (there’s even a film with Danny Huston in a similar role to what he plays here, “The Constant Gardener”), nor terribly interesting. It also, like the violence, is done in an extremely heavy-handed manner. I mean, as good as Danny Huston is here (as always, I think he’s very underrated), as soon as John Huston’s kid turns up in a film, especially in this role, you know he’s not a man to be trusted. And if the casting of Noah Cross Jr. doesn’t immediately arouse suspicion, then his first scene certainly gives the game away that whatever impropriety is going on here, Huston is certainly no boy scout. He’s up to something, and there’s only a limited number of things that ‘something’ can be. Thus, the twists and turns are picked from well beforehand, a pet hate of mine.

The acting, it has to be said, is mostly top-notch, especially for this kind of thing. In addition to Huston, we have Mel Gibson perfectly cast, despite his shocking Bah-ston accent and habit of talking to his daughter’s ghost for some reason. He’s an otherwise persuasive and commanding presence on screen, truly the modern day Glenn Ford (and not just because he was in the remake of “Ransom”). It’s pretty gut-wrenching work from the US-born, Aussie-educated actor. It has to be said though, that Gibson is above this sort of schlock, it’s one of his rare duds. The scene-stealer here is Ray Winstone, one of my favourite actors. He absolutely walks off with the whole film in his shadowy, quietly sinister role. You’re never quite sure if he’s this film’s equivalent to Deep Throat, CIA spook, or Richard M. Nixon. Based on the miniseries by the late Troy Kennedy Martin, the script is by former magazine editor William Monahan (previously serving on such diverse projects such as “Kingdom of Heaven”, “The Departed”, and “Body of Lies”) and Andrew Bovel, who certainly aren’t going to be confused for any relation to Agatha Christie. I’ve heard that it bares only superficial resemblance to the Thatcher-era TV original (I’ve never seen it).

This film has its moments, but it’s a shame that it isn’t terribly interesting or fresh, because the acting is mostly tops.

Rating: C