Edge of Darkness

(MA) Icon DVD/BD

An emotionally charged thriller that has Gibson on familiar turf, Edge of Darkness is based on a BBC TV series and translates well, although as with most remakes it does make you wonder: why bother trying to beat what was a top-notch drama in the first place?

One also needs to remember this is a Mel Gibson film, so be ready for a bit of blunt force trauma, cinema-style.

Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson) is a veteran homicide detective for the Boston Police Department and a single father.

When his only child, twenty-four year-old Emma (Bojana Novakovic) is murdered on the steps of his home, everyone assumes that he was the target. But he soon suspects otherwise, and embarks on a mission to find out about his daughter’s secret life and her killing.

It transpires that there are quite a few things Thomas didn’t know about his daughter, including her involvement in a government cover-up, revealed in the person of Darius Jedburgh (Ray Winstone). Jedburgh is sent to remove evidence but finds himself unprepared for Craven’s rage and grief.

The overly complex plot doesn’t warrant too much scrutiny and Martin Campbell is nothing if not a director with exemplary visual flair, but at its core, this a film about a father who’s loss seems palpable and as such is one of Gibson’s best performances to date.

Adrian Drayton