The Man Without a Face

Starring: Mel Gibson, Nick Stahl, Margaret Whitton, Fay Masterson, Gaby Hoffman
Directed by: Mel Gibson
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
1993

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A lonely, troubled boy (Nick Stahl) begins an unlikely friendship with a mysterious, horribly-scarred man who begins tutoring him. He tries to keep their friendship secret, because he doubts his mother (Margaret Whitton), sisters (Fay Masterson, Gaby Hoffman), or the town would approve.

Review:

Tim: Mel Gibson's directorial debut is a movie that is hard to love. I never really got the supposed appeal of the film, as it just never seemed that exciting or interesting to me. The movie itself isn't bad, but it isn't very good, either. There are strong elements here, but the movie itself leaves a great deal to be desired. I blame this mostly on a rookie director's mistakes. Now, Gibson certainly has talent behind the camera, and has proven that he may even have flashes of genius. However, this, his first movie as a director, is filled with a number of first-time-director problems. It is uneven, and about 15 minutes too long. Gibson created a decent movie, but this will never be regarded as one of his best.

The problems I have with this movie are many, although none are completely disastrous. As I mentioned, this movie is a bit too long. It is interesting, but not interesting enough to hold our attention for nearly two hours. Much of the film is about the unlikely friendship between Gibson's scarred Justin McLeod, and Nick Stahl's troubled boy. There are a few beautiful moments between these two, but this relationship never makes the emotional impact that was so badly needed. This film flirted with crossing that emotional barrier, but can't quite break through.

In Gibson's credit, he did assemble a fairly good cast. I understand he reluctantly cast himself in the lead role, but this was probably for the best. He gives a decent performance, but I can't believe this would be ranked among his better ones. His performance is good enough, but it is simply not great. On the other hand, I loved the casting choice of Nick Stahl. This was Stahl's first feature film, and he does an amazing job. Stahl is believable, likeable, and I thoroughly enjoyed his performance. While he did have a few moments that revealed his lack of acting experience, he was mostly quite good. The rest of the cast are good as well.

My biggest problem with The Man Without a Face is that it never really gets off the ground. There are moments that hint of greatness, but the film as a whole is a bit disappointing. It was a hard sell in the first place- Mel Gibson had to horribly disfigure himself (and his looks are a big appeal to many moviegoers), and his scars don't make the easiest movie in the world to watch. There is a pretty powerful message here, but it doesn't come across as loud and clear as I believe Gibson intended. In the end, this movie needed to be far better, but for a first time director, this wasn't a horrible effort.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6



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