'Edge of Darkness' a brooding throwback to classic film noir
"Edge of Darkness" is directed by Martin Campbell, who gave us the greatest James Bond movie of the past 30 years, "Casino Royale."
But his newest movie isn't your standard Hollywood action fare at all. It's a moody, growly, smart and gritty throwback to the classic film noir productions pumped out by Warner Bros. during the 1940s and '50s.
If anything, "Edge of Darkness" recalls the 1950 Edmund O'Brien noir classic "D.O.A." ("Dead on Arrival"), mixed with elements from Liam Neeson's 2009 angry-killer-dad thriller "Taken" and a nod to "Silkwood."
On top of this, Campbell is simply directing a theatrical remake of his 1985 BBC big-business conspiracy miniseries, updated by William "The Departed" Monahan.
"Edge of Darkness" (a title taken from a 1943 Warner Bros. war movie) stars Mel Gibson, marking his first starring role in eight years, as Boston police detective Tom Craven. He's a single dad who dotes on his grown daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic). She has just returned home from her "glorified internship" at an unspecified company.
Right away, we can tell something's amiss. Emma vomits. Her nose starts bleeding. Craven insists on taking her to the hospital, but they barely get to the door when a shotgun blast, perhaps intended for Craven, blows her across the room.
This is where Campbell slows the story down to show us an anguished father in shock. His friend and fellow cop Whitehouse (Jay O. Sanders) reminds him that he can depend on his fellow police officers to help.
This sets up a network of support across Massachusetts for Craven as he seeks out his daughter's killer, a key plot component later.
Where Neeson's mad dad in "Taken" was an unstoppable super agent bulldozing his way through Europe to find his kidnapped daughter, Gibson's cop is a regular guy exhausted by physical altercations while attempting to solve his daughter's murder.
No super agent, Craven takes naps in the afternoon. He's weary and leery. He just wants to climb up to the next rung of the mystery.
Craven begins to suspect something wrong when he confronts slimy Jack Bennett (Danny Huston, emanating an eerie tan that almost makes him look plastic). He heads a government-connected company involved in nuclear weapons manufacturing, the place where Emma worked.
"It's classified," is the answer Craven gets.
Craven's search for the truth leads him to an enigmatic government cleanup man named Jedburgh (Ray Winstone, subbing for Robert De Niro, who walked off the production after a single week).
This is one of the best parts of "Edge of Darkness," where two experienced professionals sit down and honestly talk to each other, yet each is keenly aware he may have to kill the other if things shake out that way. Winstone nearly steals his scenes with an icy alternate morality.
Periodically, Craven revisits memories of Emma as a child. At the beach. In the bathroom. These are dicey moments, because they can come off as cloying and sentimental.
But they don't. For us, they are constant reminders of his grief. For him, they are constant reminders of his purpose. And they are touching.
"Edge of Darkness" may be a piece of brooding neo-noir, but it's still a Campbell movie, and it comes loaded with planted mines of violence that detonate without warning. Sometimes in mid-sentence.
As for Gibson, the controversial megastar has aged gracefully as an action figure. His widow's peak is more pronounced. His skin resembles blistered leather. His sideburns are gray, yet those limpid blue eyes still burn with charm and exuberance.
And he wears his volatile life experience around his neck like an anchor, perfect for a scrappy Boston cop out to settle a vendetta.
"Edge of Darkness"
Rating: ★ ★ ★
Starring: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic, Jay O. Sanders
Directed by: Martin Campbell
Other: A Warner Bros. release. Rated R for language, violence. 117 minutes