"Whatever you've got to do with Lydia, first you've got to deal with me."
So who’s in favour of skipping the obligatory recounting of
Mel Gibson’s various statements and controversial acts in favour of focussing
on the quality of the most recent film he is starring in rather than simply
alienating readers, spouting needlessly outrageous political views and
potentially offending anyone who belongs to one of the groups insulted by Mr
Gibson? Is that everyone? Good because I know I am.
John Link (Gibson) is a war veteran and ex-convict is out on
parole, trying to go straight and clean up his act. However when his estranged daughter
Lydia (Erin Moriarty) turns up, carrying a fair amount of baggage in the form
of a drug cartel assembles of murderous thugs seeking revenge against her.
Despite that rings startlingly close to ‘Taken’ in which a
highly skilled and dangerous father returns to his former ways of violence in
order to save his daughter, ‘Blood Father’ manages to transverse the usual clichés
that could potentially weigh down this story and instead goes into a much further
exploration of the character dynamic as well as a more brutal portrayal of the
violence taking place within it.
That is partially a result of having a much stronger female
character than the usual, vulnerable damsel in distress kind of role. Lydia is
not only a far from perfect daughter, and somewhat reflective of her father’s tumultuous
history, but she brings about this crisis on herself through her own actions.
It means that the ensuing journey is not just a typical run of the mill action
thriller but also a story of redemption and forgiveness for more than one of
the characters. The fact that the movie establishes such a strong connection
between John and Lydia both thematically and emotionally is the driving force
of the film, and serves to further both the narrative and development of the
main characters.
This sense of imperfection (that thing that real people have
and action directors/writers seem to forget about) carries over to Gibson’s
character as well. There is no secret arsenal stashed under the floorboards, no
team of former colleagues to call and find the nearest exit and no instant
relapse into his old ways. John Link feels like a real, world weary character,
one that has endured scars and troubles but has clearly taken the toll from
them. The way he takes down the various bad guys is not with the demeanour of an
unbelievably skilled fighter, the way his character ploughs through the action
feels like the reality of the situation, and that reality is that a sixty year
old man has been thrust back into a violent world against men half his age. Not
only that, but there is a sense of vulnerability to him not just on a physical
level but on an emotional one as well, a character seeking redemption for his
failings as a father who yearns to compensate for those shortcomings ion the
only way he knows how.
These characterisations are not only brought forward with
the writing but also the performances. Gibson’s charisma is almost inescapable
as it bleed its way onto every frame he occupies. This greying and distant
attitude makes the character feel more believable and fleshed out, but no
mistake, Gibson remains in full command of every scene he is in and never for a
second leaves you in any doubt that he has the ability to kill whoever he wants,
whenever he wants. Moriarty is also decent in her role but occasionally struggles
to share the spotlight with Gibson and often gets left in the dust. William H
Macy offers a slightly more comical but no less interesting performance and
Diego Luna makes a menacing and suitably unstable antagonist.
This description only
serves to build the film up as more of a nonstop action, thriller. However one
striking feature of ‘Blood Father’ is how the action regularly seems to take a
back seat in favour of further developing the characters. While the pacing
suffers somewhat in between these set pieces the performances and writing are
satisfactory enough to carry them. With the direction adopting a grindhouse
sensibility that helps maintain a consistently gritty and down to earth tone.
The finale in particular sees both the director Jean-Francois Richet and Gibson
himself saving their most valuable assets until the last moment to end fairly spectacularly.
None of this is quite enough to elevate ‘Blood Father’ above the status of
mid-level thriller that it occupies but it helps it leave a lasting impact and
become a pleasant surprise.
Anchored by an excellent Mel Gibson performance, ‘Blood
Father’ is a surprisingly riveting movie.
Result: 7/10
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