Released: August 2016
Director: Jean-Francois Richet
Rated R
Run Time: 88 Minutes
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Genre: Action, Crime Thriller
Cast:
Mel Gibson: Link
Erin Moriarty: Lydia
Diego Luna: Jonah
Michael Parks: Preacher
William H. Macy: Kirby
Mel Gibson is by far one of the most talented actors and directors in the entire film industry. His first big break as an actor was Mad Max back in 1979. He hit it big time in Australia, but it wasn’t until The Road Warrior that the rest of the world got their first look at Mel. After that, the rest is history. He’s been in some of the biggest and best movies the industry has seen. He didn’t just do action movie, he did comedy and drama, and he was really good at it. Behind the camera, Mel Gibson was also extraordinary. Braveheart wasn’t his first movie as a director, but it was his best effort that won him two Oscars: One for Best Picture, and one for Best Director. Braveheart is one of the best period epics I’ve ever seen. The movie he directed after Braveheart, Passion of the Christ was a very controversial picture. I wouldn’t say it was the catalyst for Mel’s meltdown that followed several years after, but it didn’t help matters any. He got railed by critics and audiences for what some people felt was a torture movie, despite the fact that it was based on TRUTH. After Apocalypto, Mel Gibson went completely off the rails, and as a result was blacklisted by Hollywood for nearly a decade. So, it pleases me to review a recent film of his called Blood Father.
Blood Father picks up with a man called Link in a meeting with Alcoholics Anonymous, describing his……sordid past. Link is currently making a living in a trailer park as a tattoo artist when he gets a call from his estranged daughter, Lydia. It seems she’s gotten herself into some serious trouble with the wrong people. After picking her up and taking her back to his trailer, he realizes that she’s heading down the same road that he has been with drugs and alcohol. He’s determined to try and set her straight when some gang members come looking for Lydia. After an intense shootout, Link and his daughter end up on the run. Story-wise, there isn’t anything here that we haven’t seen before and follows certain formulas. That’s not a bad thing. It’s a simple story about a father looking after his child, and is willing to do whatever it takes to protect her, and he does. What really gives Blood Father its edge is not the story, but its characters. These are flawed people trying to dig their way out of a hole. That’s about as human a story as you can make it. Again, I’ve seen it before, and it has been done better, but that’s not really the main reason why we watch a movie like this.
There’s really only one reason to watch this movie, and it’s Mel Gibson. This has to be the man’s best performance in years. The character of Link strikes me as a bit of a parallel to Mel Gibson. Both Link and Gibson have suffered from the abuse of alcohol and have been in some really dark places in their lives. The journey of Mel Gibson’s character is one of redemption, and to a certain extent also Gibson’s journey at the same time. We have a character that has done some really bad things and driven away the people that he loved most. He’s now in a place where he’s trying to get his life back on track and try to reconnect with his child. Mel Gibson just inhabits the character of Link with a certain humility and humanity that you probably wouldn’t expect from Mel. It also helps that Erin Moriarty’s character of Lydia is just as damaged as Link. The one thing that has brought them together, ironically enough, is the one thing that has kept them apart. It’s a very interesting and touching dynamic that really gives the film its emotional core. Don’t get me wrong, some of the other characters are interesting, but they aren’t the focus of the story. This is about a character, for once in his life, trying to do the right thing, and Mel Gibson really dives headfirst into the role. Erin Moriarty is awesome as Lydia and she goes toe-to-toe with Gibson. These performances are incredibly strong and help elevate what is otherwise a fairly generic action thriller.
As an action thriller, Blood Father hits all the right notes. It’s gritty and extremely intense at times. Some of the best action sequences are when they are on the road. There’s no CGI here, it’s all done practically with squibs and fake blood. It helps make the film more realistic. The pacing also helps drive the movie. It does have some slow moments to help develop the characters, but then it picks up again. It may seem like your average action thriller, but it’s still surprisingly effective. When you get to know the characters, it makes it more intense, because you want to see these people survive.
By the end of the film, you’re so wrapped up in the world that these actors and directors have created, that you really feel like you’re a part of the journey. While the film isn’t perfect, no film is, it does enough to distinguish itself from the rest of the pack. It’s just a damn shame that Blood Father never really got a chance to shine in theaters across the world. I guess people are still upset over the things that Mel Gibson has said and done over the past decade. Personally, I’ve long since forgiven him for his outbursts. He’s a flawed human being as we all are, and stumbles just as much as we do. In my opinion, Blood Father goes a long way to getting Mr. Gibson back on track. Mel Gibson has a new film coming out that he’s directing called Hacksaw Ridge. It seems to me like some people are finally ready to give him another chance. That’s all any of us can really ask for. Blood Father is by far one of the biggest surprises of 2016 and I really am looking forward to what Mel Gibson has coming in the future.
Final Score: 9/10.