Australian Penthouse

Edge of Darkness

Director: Martin Campbell
Stars: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston
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MEL Gibson is back, doing what he does best: kicking arse (sans spouting racial epithets).  In Edge of Darkness Mel channels the kind of fatal simmering anger his character, Porter, carried throughout the rewarding revenge thriller Pay Back (1999)  into a story of revenge against corporate corruption.

Gibson stars as Boston homicide detective Thomas Craven.  Craven’s only child, 24-year-old science graduate, Emma, is shot dead on the doorstep to the family home just hours after arriving for a short break.

Initially it appears that Craven was the intended target, but when it is discovered that his daughter was also  poisoned with the heavy metal thallium, via interviews with her terrified boyfriend David (Shawn Roberts) and a college friend, Craven uncovers evidence that Emma’s employer, Northmoor, deliberately poisoned her to cover-up her role in a  recent break-in by anti-nuclear activists, looking to uncover other, secret Northmoor dealings.

While burning his daughter’s radioactive clothing in his yard, Thomas is joined by Darius Jedburgh (Ray Winstone), a Northmoor “consultant” whose job it is to monitor the situation with Craven and, if necessary, prevent him from uncovering the company’s illegal activities.

The two men are direct and uncompromising in their intentions, and their clouded-yet-clear conversation reveals an undercurrent of unexpected respect for each other.  Jedburgh leaves Craven to investigate, with a warning.

After meeting with a Senator whom his daughter tried to use as a whistleblower, and her former boss, Jack Bennett (Danny Huston), the increasingly haunted father understands that these people not only know what happened to his daughter and the dead activists, but are in collusion to cover up government-sanctioned murder. With little to live for, Craven embarks on a path to mete out his revenge—even if it kills him.

Edge of Darkness is available to rent or buy on 7 July.