In Edge of Darkness, things get personal for veteran homicide detective Craven when his only child, Emma (Bojana Novakovic), is gunned down. Craven doesn't believe the official story, that she was murdered by mistake and that the killer was actually after him, and so he takes matters into his own hands. Craven launches his own investigation into his daughter's private life to find out what she was involved in that could have possibly led to her death.
Ray Winstone (The Departed, Beowulf), the only British actor in the otherwise all-American cast, co-stars as Darius Jedburgh. Darius is a 'cleaner,' a mysterious figure who comes into the picture after Craven's daughter is killed to find out what Emma knew.
Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, and Director Martin Campbell Edge of Darkness Press Conference
Have you gotten the acting bug back and might you pop up in Max Max 4?Mel Gibson: "Okay, well, yeah, I walked away from it after Signs because I just felt I was a bit stale and I needed to kind of maybe... It wasn’t ringing my bells, so I focused on directing and writing and producing and all that kind of stuff, and it was time to come back. Now, I got the acting bug back because I felt like all of a sudden, maybe after all these years I might have something to offer again and it coincided with a very good piece of material. It was a compelling story with good elements attached and I dug it. And it gave me the chance to work with Martin and Ray and Graham and [writer] Bill Monahan. If it wasn’t this, it would’ve been something else. But this was the best thing that I saw."
Have you talked to George Miller about Mad Max?
Mel Gibson: "Oh yeah, George and I...yeah, I’ve talked to George. Yeah, we’ve had a good chin wag about it. We talk all the time anyway, George and I, so I’m abreast of that. I know he’s been trying to do this for years, the fourth installment. At one point I was involved and it felt a bit… and then this and that, so now it’s probably gone through a lot of changes. I can’t wait to see it because everything he does, I think, is magic, I think is a touch of genius, more than a touch of genius about George. Probably most of any good trick I’ve ever learned, I’ve learned off that guy and Peter Weir."
Once you got back, did you feel rusty or did it come back to you quickly?
Mel Gibson: "A little bit. I remember Martin had to tell me to tone it down a couple of times because you forget levels and stuff. It’s like sort of like dialing in levels and stuff. So after that it was pretty natural. You don’t do something for 30 years and forget it. So yeah, it felt all right. It felt better, actually."
Did the juices come back?
Mel Gibson: "Yeah, pretty much, yeah. And that was something an old, wise old - well, not so wise, not so old guy told me once. 'Go away, dig a hole, do something else, come back and it magically rejuvenates your creative impulses and stuff.' He’s right, I think. And I cannot qualify how exactly, but I know that something happened. Just nothing better than a vacation sometimes."
Do you keep in shape naturally or did you have to get back in shape for the fight scene?
Mel Gibson: "Well, the only thing I did with that was just I ordered a chiropractor for the day after, because I knew what it was going to feel like. I knew I was going to wake up like roadkill, and I did. You don’t bounce back as quick as you used to, and that guy’s 25, right? And he’s taking it easy on you, okay. It’s not a pleasant experience, you know? Things, you don’t pop back the way you used to, but it’s okay. So long as it still looks good."
Do you naturally stay in shape?
Mel Gibson: "I don’t work out much. I try and eat right and exercise a little. That sounds horrible. I quit smoking, so that’s something in the right direction. There’s no more fun things left. I just don’t do anything fun anymore. But that’s dying, isn’t it? You die in stages, right? You let things go in pieces. It’s more than halfway through, right?"
Did you watch the original because your performance was similar to Bob Peck’s?
Mel Gibson: "It was? Interesting because I watched it back in the '80s, avidly. Avidly. It was some of the best TV I’d ever seen, and British television at that time was great. We’ve all talked about that, but I made a point to not watch it because I didn’t want it to be a part of that but to just try and be truthful. Hey, if you’re saying that my performance was anything like what Bob Peck did, I’m flattered because I think he was amazing."
What were your preconceptions when you saw the screenplay and how closely do these sync up?
Martin Campbell: "I think very closely. The action, we tried to do the action... Cumulatively, it’s actually not that much. There’s not a great deal of action in it, but we designed the action so rather like a car crash, most violent acts come out of nowhere. They simply happen in the blink of an eye. You never quite know exactly what happened and that was the principal of this, really."
Mel Gibson: "He likes to do that kind of thing. Before you can do this [cover your eyes], it’s like, 'Oh, oh!' It’s like that. It’s much better."
