For Reel

Edge of Darkness

Director: Martin Campbell

It’s not surprising to learn that “Edge of Darkness” was adapted from a six-hour miniseries also helmed by “Casino Royale” director Martin Campbell. Things are convoluted and vague throughout despite each tiresome pause the film takes to explain it’s intricacies. Perhaps Campbell was too married to the material – the screen’s so crowded that we don’t have time to care about any of the main players, and things fare even worse for the laughably superfluous additions to the cast. Well-crafted though it might be, “Edge of Darkness” barely succeeds as a temporary thrill-ride, earning the dreaded January release date it was saddled with.

Mel Gibson, returning to the screen for the first time since “Signs”, plays cop Tommy Craven. His wife has presumably left him, but his relationship with grown daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic) has flourished. One night, Emma begins to bleed from the nose, and on their way to the hospital Emma is killed by drive-by shotgun blast. Although the obvious explanation is that Tom was targeted by a disgruntled ex-convict, he, and the viewers, know better.

It turns out that Emma was employed by a corrupt company dubbed Northmoor, run by devious CEO Jack Bennett (Danny Huston). Huston’s casting clues us in that he’s bad from the very beginning, but beyond that it’s not hard to figure out – in fact, all of the corporate henchman in the film might as well be twirling their mustaches and lurking in shadows.

The saving grace of the film is a charismatic performance by the great Ray Winstone. The growls of his baritone voice suggest that he spends his spare time gargling gravel, but everytime we see him he’s suited up well with slicked-back hair, a glass of wine, and a cigar. His allegiances are kept in mystery throughout the majority of the film, and it’s only in his scenes with Gibson that Gibson’s capacity looks to exceed the familiar vengeance-seeking father he’s made his career on.

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