Mel Gibson's directorial debut is a fine coming of age film, but it's also much more than that. Nick Stahl, in his debut film, plays a boy named Chuck in a family that is somewhat dysfunctional. Chuck wants to leave to go to military boarding school and follow in his father's footsteps. The problem is he failed in his first attempt to get in, and now he resorts to being tutored by Gibson's disfigured character, who has a questionable past. Along the way, he learns lessons about friendship, knowledge, life, and truth. Newcomer Stahl is fine as the young man, who learns to question the majority and find out things for himself. Gibson is terrifically understated as the renaissance man forced to live in isolation after tragic circumstances. Their scarred backgrounds are what draws them together. The film takes a while to get going, but once it does, we are drawn into a special relationship between Stahl and Gibson. Gibson is a little obvious at times with the Shakespeare references from The Merchant Of Venice, but they do not prevent the film from being ingratiating. Stahl's mother (Margaret Whitton) and sisters (Fay Masterson and Gaby Hoffman), who are all good, have little to do in the film, and the townsfolk are a bit one dimensional. The film is also somewhat predictable as it progresses. Despite these criticisms, the film's message is not lost on us, and it remains a very entertaining coming of age film. This is a very good debut film from Mel Gibson as director. *** of 4 stars.
Review of The Man Without a Face
