Say what you will about Mel Gibson as a person, but there’s no denying his talent as an actor. The man has screen presence out the wazoo and the wherewithal to know when to show restraint. He acts more with his body language than vocals, introducing the latter only in serious situations (which are aplenty in this film). His recent real-life escapades may have even made him a better actor, infusing his real emotional woes into his fictional ones. I seen him do so in “The Beaver” and even “Get the Gringo,” and now I’ve seen him do so in “Blood Father.”
Mel plays Link, a recovering alcoholic and ex-con trying his damnedest to put his life back together. His sponsor, Kirby (William H. Macy), tries to keep him on the straight and narrow, residing in the same trailer park as him to keep tabs. He’s even encouraged Link to take up tattooing, the only skill he has that won’t land him in hot water. It’s also the only skill that keeps his mind preoccupied, preventing it from straying into dark thoughts about his past and long-lost daughter.
Wouldn’t you know it, his long-lost daughter just so happens to find him and reenter his life, bringing a cavalcade of dirty laundry with her. She is Lydia (Erin Moriarty), a spunky and resourceful teenager who, much like her blood father, has gotten in with the wrong crowd. Her boyfriend, Jonah (Diego Luna), a drug dealer moonlighting as a realtor, involved her in a stickup of one of his clients, resulting in her accidentally shooting him dead. Now, she’s on the run from his crew looking to collect on their money. She falls into her father’s arms, who only wants to help her but not get involved in the con life once again.
This is where the casting of Mel Gibson comes into play wonderfully! There’s no current actor working today that could take to this role with such ease. Even discrediting his real-life issues (which play into Link’s persona), he’d still be the best choice as he’s always had a knack for quietly intense antiheroes. He embodies Link perfectly, breathing humanity into the character to prevent him from being an invincible one-man army. You can see his struggle from the outset to help his daughter, but completely understand why he’d blindly aid her despite not seeing her in years. He wants to make right of all of his wrongs, no matter how much doubt he has to put aside to believe Lydia. His motivation is sound throughout, sans one sequence in which he foolishly leaves her to her lonesome to get captured.
Link goes against his better instincts and harbors his fugitive daughter for her protection. He’s not without his concerns, constantly snapping at her when she shuts him out. There’s an intense sequence where he snaps at her, confiscating her drugs and demanding answers. While he shouts and bangs against the walls, you never get the sense that he’d hurt her; he’s just trying to get her attention. He sees himself in her and knows full well tough love is the only way to get through to her. This comes into play later on when she talks about committing suicide. At first, he seems cold and distant, telling her to do it and how pointless it is. It’s only when he compares her suicidal tendencies to his own and opening her mind to the fact that, if she truly wanted to die, she wouldn’t have come to him, that you realize along with Lydia that he truly cares. He’s exhibiting tough love to get through to her damaged senses, the same way his sponsor and supporters had to get through his. Throughout the film, even during the heroic shootouts, you can see Link’s crippling mental state festering.
Play that into contrast with Erin Moriarty’s performance. Don’t get me wrong, she does an excellent job here, showcasing confidence and charisma. Her issue is that her emotions are erratic. One second she’s hysterical, breaking down over the thought of going to prison or playing hostage to the drug dealers. The next second she’s strutting around with swagger, using her instincts and charm to woo strangers into aiding her (such as the motel clerk who hides her and her father from the police). Her performance is more akin to emotional whiplash, whipping back and forth between depression and cockiness. Mind you, this is an honest trait of someone with her personality, but the problem is you can’t sense it festering like you can with Link. Either side comes out when it suits the story, almost like a split personality, as opposed to complementing the character (like with Link).
I put the blame more on the scripting over the character, credited to Andrea Berloff & Peter Craig (who’s adapting his novel to screen), and the direction of Jean-François Richet. I don’t feel the parties involved are intentionally sabotaging Moriarty, but are just slightly misguided in how to approach the character. They see Link as more seasoned, hence his smoldering emotions, as to where Lydia is younger and more susceptible to mood swings. Even so, the confidence should be more apparent before her incident, with her fear slowly taking over her mental state the longer the film goes. That never quite happens despite Moriarty’s best attempts to prove so when having to flip the switch. It’s never enough to sink the film’s drama or the performance, but is enough to act like a nagging thorn in its side.
The rest of the film is both written and directed splendidly! It’s a tightly wound thriller driven by the emotions of the leads. The action sequences, wisely kept to a minimum, are shot in close quarters to highlight their immediacy. This is how you shoot intimate action sequences, not throttling the camera around wildly. Even the superfluous asides, such as Link’s encounter with an old partner in Preacher (Michael Parks), are made to be intense & dramatically sound. The film never overstays its welcome, keeping the story confined to an appropriate ninety-minutes. This is a down and dirty thriller, one that was Mel’s calling card for a long time, done right with fierce potency and dramatic nuances!
Final Rating: B+