Your School. Your Paper. Since 1936.

The Suffolk Journal

Your School. Your Paper. Since 1936.

The Suffolk Journal

Your School. Your Paper. Since 1936.

The Suffolk Journal

Boston area featured in ‘Edge of Darkness’

Article by: Ashley Maceli

Mel Gibson...what did you do to this poor man's apartment?

Mel Gibson returns to the big screen after five years of absence in Edge of Darkness (Warner Bros., 2010). Mel Gibson’s performance is as awesome as ever, though the overall story was lackluster. However, other aspects of the movie definitely need to be credited for saving it.

The film, set in Boston, follows the story of veteran detective Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson). Craven receives a visit from his daughter Emma, (Bojana Novakovic) an MIT graduate who seems to be rather sick. After spending no more than an evening together, Emma gets even sicker. As they leave their house to get to the hospital, Emma is shot and killed right in front of her father. Craven sets back into his hard-exterior policeman front as he grieves the loss of his secret-filled daughter and tries to crack the case of why exactly someone wanted her killed.

The story line is pretty solid, but from time to time the plot does get confusing. The film tends to move too fast at certain points and slower at others. Very epic fight scenes with Gibson kick major you know what, and you can’t help but root him on since his character is the epitome of justice-serving.

The greatest part of the movie had to be the characters and the fear, bravery, and moral questions they dealt with throughout the film. Gibson’s character was good-natured but made it perfectly clear that he would not be screwed around with. Danny Huston was absolutely brilliant as the corporate jackass, Jack Bennett. One of the greatest characters, though, was Jedburgh (Ray Winstone) an ambiguous double agent who worked for both sides throughout  the movie. The smart Englishman was just as likable as Gibson’s character, Craven. The two of them teaming up from time to time in the movie was superb and their chemistry was very life-like.

The reason Suffolk students may want to spend the money on seeing this movie, though, is to see all the wonderful places in Massachusetts where the movie was filmed. From South Station, to the Public Gardens, it makes it pretty cool to sit back and point out all the places you can recognize. A good part of the film was shot in the Boston neighborhood of Roslindale, as well as a number of other surrounding areas, such as the towns of Lynn, Lincoln and Medford. There are even some great jokes directed at Massachusetts, which were some of the funniest moments of the solemn movie.

Overall, this movie was well-worth the money and time. Though the plot got thick at times and slightly confusing and vague, it went along with how Craven was feeling throughout his investigation. As long as you are sure to pay close attention to the movie, you may find it rather enjoyable as a great drama and action movie with Mel Gibson back in the game.

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

All The Suffolk Journal Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Activate Search
Boston area featured in ‘Edge of Darkness’