Movie: Edge of Darkness
Cast: Mel Gibson, Bojana Novakovic, Ray Winstone
Martin Campbell's adaptation of the 1985 BBC series of the same name is a thriller that works. “Edge of Darkness” is what one would call a typical Mel Gibson film — solid performances, loop-holes in the plot, people staring into the mirror keeping serious faces, etc.
Man vs. government
It is the story of a Boston police detective Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson), who in an attempt to unravel the mystery behind his daughter Emma's (Bojana Novakovic) death, gets mixed up in a national security issue. The media initially believe that the killer gunned down Emma by mistake while attacking Thomas, but all that changes once Thomas finds a pistol in Emma's home, after which he realises his daughter was caught up in quite a mess herself and he tries to arrange the various pieces of the treacherous puzzle which makes him confront and kill many bigwigs dressed up in suits and travelling in luxurious Bentleys.
Mel Gibson gives a trademark performance, as the enraged father and an honest cop, with nothing to lose and bullets to waste. He is stained with blood for a major part of the movie and overcomes all odds and human limits to finally get what he wants. There are also many surprise gun shots in the movie which will make you spill your popcorn all over the seat. But the plot gets clouded in many parts of the movie, especially the Jedburgh (Ray Winstone) character, who is supposedly a wise guy who straightens people up but treats Thomas as an exception and is overcome by his emotions when he takes the side of Thomas and not the bad guys.
Bottomline: “Edge of Darkness” isn't an innovation. Plenty of films have rolled out of the ‘man versus the government' genre, where people are shot in the eyes, surveillance vans roam happily and the hero marches on and recovers from the most fatal injuries in no time. The movie makes no attempt to shatter glass and quietly falls under this category. Yet, it is worth a watch. And if you miss it you can always get the DVD or wait a few months for the TV premiere.
GAUTHAM SRINIVAS, B. Tech, Computer Science and Engineering, NIT-Trichy
