Edge of Darkness

Edge of Darkness

By Jonathan Fisher, February 11th, 2010

Edge of Darkness is a pretty routine conspiracy movie by way of vengeance movie marginally elevated by a fine performance by Mel Gibson. It’s been eight years since Gibson has appeared on screen, and his appearance in Edge of Darkness is a bit startling. His face is worn and lined, his voice is noticeably gruffer and his eyes seem slightly more piercing and mournful. Gibson has undergone an enormous transformation as an action hero, from a cheeky, charismatic heart-throb in the Lethal Weapon movies to a deeply scarred, introspective and stoic older man. He wears this transition well, and his performance is the best thing about Edge of Darkness.


The rest of the film, directed by Martin Campbell and adapted from a 1980s mini-series of the same name, does not wear the transition so well. The opening scene sets the scene nicely, as Craven meets his daughter Emily at the local train station, taking her back to his home. It’s clear they haven’t seen each other in a while, and it’s also clear that Craven’s daughter is very sick. She vomits on the way home, before dinner and her nose bleeds profusely. When she and her father leave to go to the hospital, a masked man murders her brutally at the front step. Given Craven’s standing as a police officer, the immediate suspicion is that he was the target, and she was killed collaterally.

The more that Craven digs, the less it appears that he was the target of the hit. His first port of call is Emily’s boyfriend. Upon knocking on his door, and eventually jimmying the lock, Craven finds himself being pummeled by his daughter’s boyfriend in a fight scene that reminded me of Martin Campbell’s last film, the masterful Bond movie Casino Royale.  His investigation crosses paths with Emily’s boyfriend, a mysterious English thug played by Ray Winstone, and Emily’s employer (played by Danny Houston), a highly secretive scientific research company that seems to be dealing in some sort of shonky nuclear non-proliferation deal with a state senator. Craven’s daughter Emily appears to have been involved in being a kind of whistle-blower who was subsequently taken out.

From this point on, Edge of Darkness shifts between genres, as it slowly reveals the extent and nature of the conspiracy that Emily was involved in while also expressing the anger and thirst for vengeance driving Craven. Vengeance movies generally live or die based on the amount they get us to feel the protagonist’s loss. We have to really believe and empathise with the hero in order to get behind them taking the law into their own hands. Edge of Darkness, despite Gibson’s best efforts, doesn’t quite get there. It relies on showing us memories of Craven shaving with his daughter, as she proclaims, “I love you, Daddy!” It’s nice enough, but a very unoriginal way of expressing the bond between father and daughter. I didn’t quite buy it. But there is still a bottom line of competency about Edge of Darkness. I’m often accused of thinking too much about my movies. Something I don’t apologise for, but even so -- if you’re impressed by well-made flicks with stories that aren’t quite up to scratch, Edge of Darkness may be for you.

As for the conspiracy aspect of the movie, it’s just too talky. Characters weave in and out of the film, with overlong, wordy explanations of who they are and what their motives are. During the flurry of revelation towards the end of the movie, I just couldn’t follow any of the exposition. Ray Winstone’s character says to the state senator with regards to covering up the conspiracy, “Your aim is to make it as convoluted as possible, so that people will know something happened, but won’t be able to figure out what.” No kidding!