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Edge of Darkness(2010 film)

This article is about Edge of Darkness (2010 film). For the 1985 BBC television drama, seeEdge of Darkness.For other uses, seeEdge of Darkness (disambiguation).

Edge of Darknessis a 2010conspiracycrime thrillerfilm directed byMartin Campbell,written byWilliam MonahanandAndrew Bovell,and starringMel GibsonandRay Winstone.A British-Americanco-production,it is based on the 1985BBCtelevision seriesof the same name,which was likewise directed by Campbell. This was Gibson's first screen lead sinceSigns(2002), and follows a detective investigating the murder of his activist daughter, while uncovering political conspiracies and cover-ups in the process. It was released on 29 January 2010. It received mixed reviews from critics, though Gibson's and Winstone's performances were praised, and grossed $81 million against its $80 million production budget which made it abox-office bomb.

Edge of Darkness
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMartin Campbell
Written by
Based onEdge of Darkness
1985 TV series
byTroy Kennedy Martin
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPhil Meheux
Edited byStuart Baird
Music byHoward Shore
Production
company
Distributed by
Release date
  • 29 January 2010(2010-01-29)(United States)
Running time
117 minutes[2]
Countries
  • United Kingdom[1]
  • United States[1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$80 million[2]
Box office$81.1 million[2]

Plot

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AtSouth Station,Boston,homicide detective Thomas Craven picks up his daughter Emma, who comes home to visit. On the car ride and at home, Emma feels increasingly unwell,vomitingand suffering anosebleed.When they step outside the house to go to a hospital, a masked gunman shouts "Craven!" and opens fire with ashotgun,hitting Emma. Craven attends to his daughter, who dies in his arms.

While formally identifying Emma's body, Craven takes a lock of her hair as a memento, then returns to duty to help find out who wanted to kill him. Upon discovering a.45 pistolin Emma's nightstand, he starts to suspect that Emma was the gunman's target, not him. The gun's ownership leads him to David, her boyfriend. David is fearful of Northmoor, a weapons company that employs him and Emma, and refuses to talk, only giving Craven Emma's apartment key. In Emma's apartment, Craven finds aGeiger counterand later discovers her hair is radioactive.

Craven visits Jack Bennett, Northmoor's CEO. Northmoor leases a research and development facility from theU.S. government.Bennett claims the firm is working on clean nuclear energy, but refuses to go into detail. He inquires rudely about Craven's feelings after Emma's death.

Craven repeatedly has visions of Emma's past, including short conversations, typically as the happy young child he remembers and loves. As he burns Emma's clothing in his backyard, Craven finds Jedburgh, a British "consultant". Jedburgh was tasked with tying up loose ends related to Emma, including her father. However, Jedburgh takes a liking to Craven, and lets him live.

One of Emma's activist friends, who is nearly killed by a Northmoor agent, reveals to Craven that Bennett ordered Emma's murder, as well as those of the other activists that aided her in investigating Northmoor. The company has been manufacturing nuclear weapons using foreign designs. The weapons were intended to belinked with foreign nationsif they were used by the United States asdirty bombs.

Craven confrontsU.S. SenatorJim Pine, who was contacted earlier by Emma, revealing that Craven knows almost everything that happened.

After examining Emma's fridge with the Geiger counter, Craven discovers that her milk is radioactive. Craven also falls sick. He is abducted by Northmoor agents, and wakes up handcuffed to a gurney in the Northmoor facility, but manages to escape. His health deteriorating fromradiation poisoning,Craven heads to Bennett's house, and kills the Northmoor agents after forcing one of them at gunpoint to shout "Craven", finally identifying him as Emma's killer. Bennett shoots and wounds Craven, but Craven also wounds Bennett and forces some of the radioactive milk down his throat. Bennett attempts to take some pills to counteract the radioactivity, but Craven tells Bennett he deserves what's coming to him and fatally shoots him.

Jedburgh meets with the Senator and two political advisers who had hired him. They want to spin the Northmoor incident in a positive light. Jedburgh suggests that portraying it as an assassination attempt on the Senator could be an angle to keep Bennett's death out of the headlines. They are pleased with this idea until Jedburgh abruptly kills both advisers and the senator. When a young police officer nervously enters the Senator's room, Jedburgh asks the officer at gunpoint if he has children. When the officer replies yes, Jedburgh lowers his gun, allowing the officer to shoot him dead.

A young reporter for the local TV station, who had spoken to Craven a few nights earlier, opens a letter from him which contains DVDs recorded by Emma revealing the conspiracy. As Craven dies in the hospital, the spirit of Emma comforts him. The ghosts of Craven and Emma are then shown walking down the corridor toward a bright, white light.

Cast

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Production

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In 2002, Martin Campbell announced that he was planning to adaptEdge of Darknessfor the cinema.[11]Active development began in early 2007 when Campbell met with producerGraham King,who first enlisted Australian playwrightAndrew Bovellto write, and thenWilliam Monahan(fresh from winning anAcademy Awardfor King'sThe Departed) to re-write the screenplay.[12]Michael WearingandBBC Filmsalso co-produced the film.[4][7]

Filming began on 18 August 2008 inBoston, Massachusetts.[5]A scene where Craven scatters his daughter's ashes at a beach was filmed atRockporton 25 and 26 September.[13]They shot some scenes inMerrimac, Massachusettsfrom 15 September 2008 to 18 September 2008. Additional scenes were shot inMalden, Massachusettsin the old Malden hospital. Some of the final scenes were shot at a home inManchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts.Additionally, Gibson and his crew set up shop for filming inwestern Massachusetts,with 180 staff staying inNorthamptonhotels. They shot in various locations in thePioneer Valley,including Tully O'Reilly's Pub, the Northampton Athletic Club, and an older part of the Hampshire County Courthouse, all in Northampton. Also,Sugarloaf Mountainwas shut down for a few days while they rented it out.[14]They also filmed at the Notch Visitor Center, Rt. 116, Amherst, and right across the street from the Visitor Center, buried inBare Mountain,The Notch Cold War Bunkerstood in for the main entrance of the Northmoor facility.

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."[15]The film was originally scored by classical composerJohn Corigliano.However, the decision was made during postproduction (after Corigliano's score had been recorded and dubbed) to replace his score with a new one byHoward Shore.

Reception

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Critical response

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OnRotten Tomatoes,the film has an approval rating of 55% based on 217 reviews and an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "For better and for worse,Edge of Darknessoffers vintage Mel Gibson, working within the familiar framework of a bloody revenge thriller. "[16]OnMetacritic,the film has a weighted average score 55 out of 100 based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."[17]Audiences polled byCinemaScoregave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[18]

Film criticRichard Roepergave the film a grade of "B", stating: "Gibson excels in this entertaining conspiracy thriller."[19]Michael Rechtshaffen ofThe Hollywood Reportercalled the film "An intense Mel Gibson performance anchors this brutally effective crime thriller."[20]Some critics, such asA.O. ScottofThe New York Times,saw a similarity toTaken.[21]Other critics, such asChicago Sun-Timesfilm criticRoger Ebert,[22]Chicago Tribunefilm criticMichael Phillips,[23]andNew Orleans Times-Picayunefilm critic Mike Scott,[24]described Ray Winstone's character in the film as "intriguing."

Box office

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On its first weekend, the film opened number two, grossing $17.1 million behindAvatar.[25]The film went on to gross $43.3 million in the United States and Canada and $37.8 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $81.1 million, against a production budget of $80 million.[2]

Home media

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The film was released byWarner Home Videoon 11 May 2010 on DVD and Blu-ray.[26][27]

References

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  1. ^abc"Edge of Darkness(2010) ".AFI Catalog of Feature Films.Retrieved15 December2023.
  2. ^abcde"Edge of Darkness (2010)".Box Office Mojo.
  3. ^abMichael Fleming (1 August 2008)."De Niro to join Mel Gibson on 'Edge'".Variety.Retrieved2 August2008.
  4. ^abMichael Fleming (28 April 2008)."Mel Gibson returns for 'Darkness'".Variety.Retrieved29 April2008.
  5. ^ab"We hear: Mel Gibson, Jason Varitek, Chaka Kahn".Boston Herald.20 August 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 10 September 2012.Retrieved20 August2008.
  6. ^Michael Fleming (12 September 2008)."Winstone replaces De Niro in 'Edge'".Variety.Retrieved12 September2008.
  7. ^abcdeBorys Kit (14 August 2008)."Three join Mel Gibson's 'Edge of Darkness'".The Hollywood Reporter.Archived fromthe originalon 22 August 2008.Retrieved15 August2008.
  8. ^Michael Fleming (4 September 2008)."De Niro exits 'Edge of Darkness'".Variety.Retrieved4 September2008.
  9. ^"Maria Gabrielle Popa".Movies & TV Dept.The New York Times.Archived fromthe originalon 11 August 2013.
  10. ^Bryon Perry (8 October 2008)."Gbenga Akinnagbe".Variety.Retrieved7 November2008.[verification needed]
  11. ^"Edge of Darkness 'set for big screen'".BBC News.16 January 2002.Retrieved9 April2007.
  12. ^"Mel´s Megafans".Archived fromthe originalon 19 September 2008.Retrieved23 September2008.
  13. ^Jonathan L'Ecuyer (24 August 2008)."Mel Gibson will film scene in Rockport".Gloucester Daily Times.Archived fromthe originalon 24 January 2013.Retrieved26 August2008.
  14. ^The Republican(Springfield, Massachusetts), 1 October 2008,"Actor Mel Gibson coming to Northampton next week to shoot new film on Main Street"(The page at masslive.com was updated on 26 January 2010; it covers all of the production locations mentioned above.), accessed 20 May 2011
  15. ^"Edge of Darkness: Martin Campbell interview".BBC Film Network. 26 January 2010.Retrieved26 January2010.
  16. ^"Edge of Darkness (2010)".Rotten Tomatoes.Flixster.Retrieved3 February2010.
  17. ^"Edge of Darkness Reviews".Metacritic.Retrieved3 February2010.
  18. ^"Find CinemaScore"(Type "Edge of Darkness" in the search box).CinemaScore.Retrieved15 July2021.
  19. ^Richard Roeper."Edge of Darkness Review".Richard Roeper.com.Retrieved29 January2010.
  20. ^Rechtshaffen, Michael."Edge of Darkness Film Review".The Hollywood Reporter.Retrieved24 January2010.
  21. ^Scott, A.O. (29 January 2010)."Movie Review – Edge of Darkness – Jaw-Breaking Boston Detective Unravels His Daughter's Murder".The New York Times.Retrieved29 January2010.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 Neesondid this kind of parental rage much better in 2008 inTaken,which was an unusually lively and persuasive example of the genre.
  22. ^Ebert, Roger (27 January 2010)."Edge of Darkness".Chicago Sun-Times.Sun-Times Media Group.Retrieved30 January2010.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.
  23. ^Phillips, Michael (28 January 2010)."Talking Pictures: 'Edge of Darkness' – 3 stars".Chicago Tribune.Retrieved30 January2010.Among them: Ray Winstone as assassin/fixer/philosopher of mysterious employ, who quietly becomes the most intriguing character...
  24. ^Scott, Mike (29 January 2010)."Mel Gibson returns in 'Edge of Darkness' – and it's the same old Mel".New Orleans Times-Picayune.Retrieved30 January2010.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.
  25. ^Corliss, Richard(31 January 2010)."Avatar Pushes Mel Gibson Off the Edge".Time.Archived fromthe originalon 3 February 2010.
  26. ^"Edge of Darkness DVD::Standard Edition".WBshop.com.Warner Home Video.Retrieved21 May2011.
  27. ^"Blu-ray Picks Of The Week for May 11th"HD Report
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