Edge of Darkness (2010 film): Difference between revisions
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On a lake side, three bodies float to the surface in the moonlight. Now Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson) picks up his daughter, Emma Craven (Bojana Novakovic), at South Station, Boston but she throws up getting into his car. At home, as he prepares a meal, Emma starts a nosebleed and vomits violently and as they hurriedly leave for hospital, a masked gunman fires two shotgun blasts at Emma simultaneously yelling “Craven”. Blasted through the door, she dies in Thomas's arms. |
On a lake side, three bodies float to the surface in the moonlight. Now Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson) picks up his daughter, Emma Craven (Bojana Novakovic), at South Station, Boston but she throws up getting into his car. At home, as he prepares a meal, Emma starts a nosebleed and vomits violently and as they hurriedly leave for hospital, a masked gunman fires two shotgun blasts at Emma simultaneously yelling “Craven”. Blasted through the door, she dies in Thomas's arms. |
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The Police believe that Thomas, a police detective, was the gunman's target but he thinks otherwise. When he finds Emma |
The Police believe that Thomas, a police detective, was the gunman's target but he thinks otherwise. When he finds Emma had a pistol in her night stand he checks the ownership - it belongs to her boy friend David (Shawn Roberts). David is frightened of the company where Emma worked and Thomas discovers that Emma became aware that Northmoor was manufacturing nuclear weapons, intended to be traced to foreign nations if they're used as dirty bombs. Following the failed break-in of the activists, Emma was poisoned with [[thallium]] through a bottle of organic milk. Burning her effects in his garden, Thomas encounters Jedburgh (Ray Winstone), a "consultant" tasked to prevent Craven from discovering Emmas information, or kill him. Liking each other, instead, Jedburgh leaves Thomas to investigate. Throughout the movie, Thomas repeatedly hears and sees his daughter, even having short conversations and interactions with her. |
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Thomas also has several encounters with Northmoor mercenaries, and he eventually discovers through Emma's activist contact that Bennett, head of Northmoor, ordered the murder of his daughter, as well as the activists Emma was working with to steal evidence of the illegal nuclear weapons. Northmoor personnel |
Thomas also has several encounters with Northmoor mercenaries, and he eventually discovers through Emma's activist contact that Bennett, head of Northmoor, ordered the murder of his daughter, as well as the activists Emma was working with to steal evidence of the illegal nuclear weapons. Northmoor personnel kill a hit man marked as a fall guy after he is set up for killing Emma's boyfriend, and attempt to murder another activist who gave Emma's information to Thomas. After confronting a lawyer and Senator that Emma contacted, revealing that he knows almost everything that happened, Bennett has Northmoor operatives allow Tom to be poisoned with [[thallium]], as his daughter had been. |
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Tom arrives at Bennett’s house and kills the mercenaries, one of which Tom realizes is the man who shot his daughter and forces him to shout “Craven” to confirm it - then shooting the man twice in the face. Bennett shoots Tom, but Tom tackles Bennett and pulls out the radioactive milk. He forces it down Bennett’s throat and collapses. Bennett runs to his cabinet to get pills to counteract the radioactivity but Tom drags himself over and shoots Bennett. |
Tom, now very sick, arrives at Bennett’s house and kills the mercenaries, one of which Tom realizes is the man who shot his daughter and forces him to shout “Craven” to confirm it - then shooting the man twice in the face. Bennett shoots Tom, but Tom tackles Bennett and pulls out the radioactive milk. He forces it down Bennett’s throat and collapses. Bennett runs to his cabinet to get pills to counteract the radioactivity but Tom drags himself over and shoots Bennett through the throat. |
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Tom is hospitalized for the gunshot wounds and radioactive poisoning. Jedburgh meets with Moore, the Senator and a political advisor. He listens to their suggestions as to how to play the Northmoor incident in a positive light. He tells them that he is done and then suggests an assassination attempt on the Senator should be the feature story, to drive Bennett’s death out of the tabloids. They are happy to go along with the story until |
Tom is hospitalized for the gunshot wounds and radioactive poisoning. Jedburgh meets with Moore, the Senator and a political advisor. He listens to their suggestions as to how to play the Northmoor incident in a positive light. He tells them that he is done and then suggests an assassination attempt on the Senator should be the feature story, to drive Bennett’s death out of the tabloids. They are happy to go along with the story until Jedburgh tells the senator that he is on the wrong side of the equation. Jedburgh then pulls out his gun and shoots all three men dead before a young state trooper comes in, gun drawn. Jedburgh gets the drop on the trooper and asks if the young man has a family and kids. The young man says yes and Jedburgh lowers his gun, and is instantly shot by the nervous cop. |
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As Tom lies dying in the hospital, we see |
As Tom lies dying in the hospital, we see Emma walk into his room, then lean down at his bedside and whisper in his ear. Across town, a young reporter opens a letter from Tom with DVDs revealing the conspiracy, with Tom’s “Good Luck” wishes. As he dies, Emma comforts him. Then father and daughter leave the hospital together and walk down the corridor into bright, white light. |
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==Cast== |
==Cast== |
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Revision as of 06:13, 3 February 2010
| Edge of Darkness | |
|---|---|
 UK Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Martin Campbell |
| Written by | William Monahan Andrew Bovell Troy Kennedy Martin (Series) |
| Produced by | Graham King Tim Headington Michael Wearing |
| Starring | Mel Gibson Ray Winstone Danny Huston Bojana Novakovic |
| Cinematography | Phil Meheux |
| Edited by | Stuart Baird |
| Music by | Howard Shore |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release dates | January 28, 2010 January 29, 2010 (United Kingdom) (United States) |
Running time | 126 minutes |
| Countries | United Kingdom United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $80 million[1] |
Edge of Darkness is a 2010 film adaptation of the 1985 BBC television series, Edge of Darkness. The film stars Mel Gibson and Ray Winstone, and is directed by Martin Campbell and produced by Michael Wearing, who also directed and produced the series respectively. Edge of Darkness follows a detective (Gibson) investigating the murder of his activist daughter (Bojana Novakovic), while uncovering political conspiracies and cover-ups in the process.
The film is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, which also distributed the unrelated 1943 film with the same title.
Plot
On a lake side, three bodies float to the surface in the moonlight. Now Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson) picks up his daughter, Emma Craven (Bojana Novakovic), at South Station, Boston but she throws up getting into his car. At home, as he prepares a meal, Emma starts a nosebleed and vomits violently and as they hurriedly leave for hospital, a masked gunman fires two shotgun blasts at Emma simultaneously yelling “Craven”. Blasted through the door, she dies in Thomas's arms.
The Police believe that Thomas, a police detective, was the gunman's target but he thinks otherwise. When he finds Emma had a pistol in her night stand he checks the ownership - it belongs to her boy friend David (Shawn Roberts). David is frightened of the company where Emma worked and Thomas discovers that Emma became aware that Northmoor was manufacturing nuclear weapons, intended to be traced to foreign nations if they're used as dirty bombs. Following the failed break-in of the activists, Emma was poisoned with thallium through a bottle of organic milk. Burning her effects in his garden, Thomas encounters Jedburgh (Ray Winstone), a "consultant" tasked to prevent Craven from discovering Emmas information, or kill him. Liking each other, instead, Jedburgh leaves Thomas to investigate. Throughout the movie, Thomas repeatedly hears and sees his daughter, even having short conversations and interactions with her.
Thomas also has several encounters with Northmoor mercenaries, and he eventually discovers through Emma's activist contact that Bennett, head of Northmoor, ordered the murder of his daughter, as well as the activists Emma was working with to steal evidence of the illegal nuclear weapons. Northmoor personnel kill a hit man marked as a fall guy after he is set up for killing Emma's boyfriend, and attempt to murder another activist who gave Emma's information to Thomas. After confronting a lawyer and Senator that Emma contacted, revealing that he knows almost everything that happened, Bennett has Northmoor operatives allow Tom to be poisoned with thallium, as his daughter had been.
Tom, now very sick, arrives at Bennett’s house and kills the mercenaries, one of which Tom realizes is the man who shot his daughter and forces him to shout “Craven” to confirm it - then shooting the man twice in the face. Bennett shoots Tom, but Tom tackles Bennett and pulls out the radioactive milk. He forces it down Bennett’s throat and collapses. Bennett runs to his cabinet to get pills to counteract the radioactivity but Tom drags himself over and shoots Bennett through the throat.
Tom is hospitalized for the gunshot wounds and radioactive poisoning. Jedburgh meets with Moore, the Senator and a political advisor. He listens to their suggestions as to how to play the Northmoor incident in a positive light. He tells them that he is done and then suggests an assassination attempt on the Senator should be the feature story, to drive Bennett’s death out of the tabloids. They are happy to go along with the story until Jedburgh tells the senator that he is on the wrong side of the equation. Jedburgh then pulls out his gun and shoots all three men dead before a young state trooper comes in, gun drawn. Jedburgh gets the drop on the trooper and asks if the young man has a family and kids. The young man says yes and Jedburgh lowers his gun, and is instantly shot by the nervous cop.
As Tom lies dying in the hospital, we see Emma walk into his room, then lean down at his bedside and whisper in his ear. Across town, a young reporter opens a letter from Tom with DVDs revealing the conspiracy, with Tom’s “Good Luck” wishes. As he dies, Emma comforts him. Then father and daughter leave the hospital together and walk down the corridor into bright, white light.
Cast
- Mel Gibson plays Thomas Craven, a homicide detective for the Boston Police Department.[2] Gibson is a fan of the television series, and the film marks his first starring role since 2002's We Were Soldiers and Signs.[3] Gibson attended a gun club with two policemen to improve his marksmanship for the film.[4]
- Ray Winstone as Darius Jedburgh, a CIA officer sent to cover up the murder.[5] Robert De Niro had been cast in the role,[2][6] but he walked out just after he arrived to begin shooting, due to creative differences.[7]
- Danny Huston as Jack Bennett, a shady businessman.[6]
- Bojana Novakovic plays Emma Craven, Thomas' murdered daughter.[6]
- Shawn Roberts plays David Burnham, her boyfriend.[6]
- Gbenga Akinnagbe plays Darcy Jones, a detective in Thomas' squad.[8]
Production
In 2002, Martin Campbell announced that he was planning to adapt Edge of Darkness for the cinema.[9] Active development began in early 2007 when Campbell met with producer Graham King, who first enlisted Australian playwright Andrew Bovell to write, and then William Monahan (fresh from winning an Academy Award for King's The Departed) to re-write the screenplay.[10] Michael Wearing and BBC Films also co-produced the film.[3][6] Filming began on August 18, 2008 in Boston, Massachusetts.[4] A scene where Craven scatters his daughter's ashes at a beach was filmed at Rockport on September 25 and 26.[11] They shot some scenes in Merrimac, Massachusetts from September 15, 2008 to September 18, 2008. Additional scenes were also shot in Malden, MA in the old Malden hospital.
Additionally, Gibson and his crew set up shop for filming in western Massachusetts, reportedly staying in Northampton. They shot in various locations in the Pioneer Valley, including Tully O'Reilly's Pub and the Northampton Athletic Club, both in Northampton. Also, Sugarloaf Mountain was shut down for a few days while they rented it out. They also filmed at the Notch Visitor Center, Rt. 116, Amherst.[12]
The film takes place in America, unlike the television series, which was based in England. "The idea was to transfer the story to a different time and place rather than just repeat what we did in England," Campbell said. "Boston seemed like the perfect location because it does have a whole English, Irish signature on it." [13]
Reception
As of January 29, the film has received mixed reviews. Review aggretator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 58% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 128 reviews with an average score of 5.9/10. [14] Its consenus concluded "For better and for worse, Edge of Darkness offers vintage Mel Gibson, working within the familiar framework of a bloody revenge thriller." [14] Another review aggretator, Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average of 0-100 top reviews from mainstream critics, similarily gave the film an average score of 54% based on 31 reviews. [15]
Well known critic Richard Roeper of Richard Roeper & the Movies graded the film a B stating "Gibson excels in this entertaining conspiracy thriller" in his review for the film.[16] Michael Rechtshaffen, a top critic for the Hollywood Reporter said "An intense Mel Gibson performance anchors this brutally effective crime thriller".[17] Some critics such as A.O. Scott of The New York Times have noted the movie's similarity to Taken. [18] However, some critics described Ray Winstone's character in the movie as "intriguing" such as Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert [19], Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips [20], and New Orleans Times-Picayune film critic Mike Scott. [21]
References
- ^ http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=edgeofdarkness.htm
- ^ a b Michael Fleming (2008-08-01). "De Niro to join Mel Gibson on 'Edge'". Variety. Retrieved 2008-08-02.
- ^ a b Michael Fleming (2008-04-28). "Mel Gibson returns for 'Darkness'". Variety. Retrieved 2008-04-29.
- ^ a b "We hear: Mel Gibson, Jason Varitek, Chaka Kahn". Boston Herald. 2008-08-20. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
- ^ Michael Fleming (2008-09-12). "Winstone replaces De Niro in 'Edge'". Variety. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ a b c d e Borys Kit (2008-08-14). "Three join Mel Gibson's 'Edge of Darkness'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
- ^ Michael Fleming (2008-09-04). "De Niro exits 'Edge of Darkness'". Variety. Retrieved 2008-09-04.
- ^ Bryon Perry (2008-10-08). "Gbenga Akinnagbe". Variety. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
- ^ "Edge of Darkness 'set for big screen'". BBC News Online. 2002-01-16. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
- ^ http://www.melsmegafans.com/futuro.htm
- ^ Jonathan L'Ecuyer (2008-08-24). "Mel Gibson will film scene in Rockport". Gloucester Daily Times. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
- ^ http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/actor_mel_gibson_coming_to_nor.html?category=Arts/Entertainment+category=Deerfield+category=Holyoke+category=Northampton
- ^ "Edge of Darkness: Martin Campbell interview". BBC Film Network. 2010-01-26. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
- ^ a b "Edge of Darkness Movie Reviews, Publisher". IGN Entertainment. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|work=(help) - ^ "Edge of Darkness (2010): Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Edge of Darkness Review". Richard Roeper.com. Retrieved 2010-1-29.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/Edge+of+Darkness+--+Film+Review-1004061350.story
- ^ Scott, A.O. "Movie Review - Edge of Darkness - Jaw-Breaking Boston Detective Unravels His Daughter's Murder". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-1-29.
Mr. Gibson brought a wild, unpredictable streak to his action-hero persona. He traded that in at some point for the haggard, humorless demeanor he shows here, cracking the occasional somber joke on his way to breaking another jaw. Liam Neeson did this kind of parental rage much better in 2008 in Taken, which was an unusually lively and persuasive example of the genre.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Ebert, Roger (2010-01-27). "Edge of Darkness". rogerebert.com. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2010-1-30.
He's joined in this by the superb British actor Ray Winstone, as an intriguing free agent who turns up in Craven's garden one night with a cigar and an enigmatic line of patter.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|work=(help) - ^ Phillips, Michael (2010-1-28). "Talking Pictures: 'Edge of Darkness' -- 3 stars". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2010-1-30.
Among them: Ray Winstone as assassin/fixer/philosopher of mysterious employ, who quietly becomes the most intriguing character...
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Scott, Mike (2010-1-29). "Mel Gibson returns in 'Edge of Darkness' -- and it's the same old Mel". Retrieved 2010-1-30.
British actor Ray Winstone ("The Departed, " "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"), who plays an intriguingly complex hitman torn between doing his job and doing the right thing.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help)