I recently watched Man Without a Face. This was the only of the 5 films directed by Mel Gibson that I hadn't seen. So now I have completed his back catalogue, I can rank them;
5. Man without a Face (1993)
Coming of age tale in Colourful small town America, I liked how kids talk like kids and not adults which can often be the way - use terms like bucket-head or hamburger-head. The titular character is a badly disfigured man, a neighbourhood freak all the kids make up stories about - not unlike a Boo Radley. For me it's strength was capturing the community feel, life is fairly slow and safe, it felt a bit like Gilbert Grape, Lawn Dogs, This Boy's Life or Stand by Me. I thought it was a decent film but lacked any real interesting vision, and given the rest of this list, seems an oddly unremarkable film. It's not bad but Mel certainly honed his skills and became more visionary and controversial after this, which I am very thankful for.
4. Braveheart (1995)
Without a doubt Gibson's best known and best loved work as a director, and probably as a star also. An immensely popular film, and certainly a crowd pleaser, but I have always found it overrated myself. Not because of any one reason, but simply because there are other films that do similar things better. It is one of those films (like Star Wars) that I have watched a handful of times, each time expecting to finally get the monstrous appeal, but sadly it has never come. The score is great, it is an immersive story told and portrayed in a universally relatable way, but isn't challenging enough for me. I think I'm probably being picky and perhaps missing the point however. I am not usually one for crowd pleasing blockbusters... but they certainly have their place.
3. Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
This film succeeds at lulling you into a false sense of security before blowing the bloody doors off with an excruciating extended battle sequence. But throughout it remains emotionally engaging - this all made possible by spending decent time on the back story without Itching to get to the loud action. In this sense it does a good job of controlling audience emotions through balance, making for an entirely satisfactory experience. It is a great human interest story of an unsung hero who everyone can, and probably should, relate to.
2. Passion of the Christ (2004)
Gibson caused untold controversy with his retelling of the last hours of Jesus' life, it seems this subject is ripe for backlash, as Martin Scorsese can atest to. I am not one for religious studies so I couldn't begin to explain what was so inflammatory about it (besides the obvious hyper-explicit violence and gore), but as a piece of filmmaking, it is entirely competent amd utterly memorable. The scenes where Jesus is being tortured are given real care and attention and show the extent of the injuries in such a way to almost invite disgust from the audience, this is certainly a worthwhile approach Gibson took, and has made it a cinematic landmark.
1. Apocalypto (2006)
Nothing can prepare you for this assault on the senses. We follow a Mayan tribe who come under attack from a rival group. Our protagonist, Jaguar Paw, is kidnapped but escapes and leads his chasers through his forest, setting traps and picking them off one by one. Again it is a great human interest story, but this time it is the spectacle that wins you over. Action isn't my favourite genre, but for me, this is the best example ever made. The subtitles may present a problem for some audiences but Gibson really went for it visually with this one to grab focus and enrich the story. The set and costume designs and locations alone are enough to make it a worthwhile watch. The unexpected ending probably divides audiences but for me I think it is a stroke of genius, as is the rest of the film. It is Gibson's masterpiece.
Comments