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Mel Gibson’s Blood Father: Redemption, and whether it’s too late to obtain it

Critics are applauding Gibson's work in Blood Father and Hacksaw Ridge. Photo: Getty

Critics are applauding Gibson's work in Blood Father and Hacksaw Ridge. Photo: Getty Photo: Wild Bunch

Blood Father doesn’t set out to exploit the public image Mel Gibson has earned himself over the past decade through anti-Semitic outbursts, substance abuse, domestic violence allegations and, perhaps most significantly, mental health issues.

It revels in it.

Gibson’s character in Jean-François Richet’s film, John Link, is exactly that general perception of Gibson, whether it is accurate or not. The premise of Blood Father is what that man would do were he pitted against Mexican gangsters.

In light of the past few years, and the way in which Link is conveyed in Richet’s film, it’s difficult to discuss Blood Father without considering the way in which it is unequivocally related to Gibson’s personal life.

Mel Gibson is in the DNA of Blood Father. Link’s Chevrolet Nova is a mode of transport that Max Rockatansky would have been proud of. Without wanting to reduce the complexity of a man to his pop culture engendered caricature, part of the magnetism of Blood Father is that it’s not so much of a stretch to imagine that Link is simply Mel Gibson.

It’s unwise and unreasonable to assess an entire life based on mistakes and poor behaviour, no matter how public and unfortunate those mistakes may be.

But Gibson’s mistakes were public and they were very unfortunate, and Blood Father may be a way for him to demonstrate regret for his actions, to acknowledge that public image and to comment on his behaviour over the past 10 years.

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Jean-François Richet’s direction is lean and to the point. Photo: Wild Bunch

Link is introduced in a close-up. Wrinkles dominate his weathered face. It’s Old Man Gibson. He’s at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

Link runs a tattoo operation out of his rundown trailer. He is contacted by his daughter Lydia (Erin Moriarty), previously missing for an undisclosed number of years. She is in trouble. She has accidentally shot her drug-dealing boyfriend and is on the run from members of a Mexican cartel.

On plot alone, Blood Father might have evaporated amidst the overwhelming number of like-minded films that have been released in a post-Taken era. But it’s everything else that makes Blood Father wonderful.

Richet’s direction is lean and to the point. The acting is deliberately modest. Michael Parks in a brief but memorable role is outstanding. Peter Craig and Andrea Berloff’s screenplay is far better than films of this persuasion usually enjoy.

A lesser film might have labouriously instilled the characters with more redeemable or relatable qualities than the ones Link and Lydia possess.

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Blood Father is about redemption, and whether it is too late to obtain it. Photo: Wild Bunch

Blood Father manipulates you into supporting people who do more bad things than good things.

“I haven’t had so much fun since I was 15 and stealing cars,” Link confesses. “This sh*t’s a party to a dirtbag like me.”

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Link has done his time and Gibson is still doing his. Photo: Wild Bunch

Blood Father is about redemption, and whether it is sometimes too late to obtain it. That’s something that Mel Gibson can probably relate to.

It might be too late for Link, but maybe not. It might be still obtainable for Lydia, but also maybe not.

“You’ve done a little time too, huh?” one of Links tattoo customers asked him. “Yeah,” he replies reluctantly, “just a little.”

Link has done his time. Gibson has done his time. He’s still doing it.

The question is whether it’s time for us to forgive a man with obvious demons and deplorable flaws.

Watch the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgl-xVubsjI

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