I should perhaps point out that my comments below are based solely upon the film. Unlike a lot of reviewers, I have not read the original novel by Isabelle Holland- indeed, I had never previously heard of either the book or its author.
Mel Gibson's first film as director is set during one summer in the late sixties. Charles Norstadt, a twelve-year-old boy, is on holiday with his mother and two half-sisters on an island off the coast of Maine. He has ambitions to attend the same military academy as his late father, who he believes was a war hero, but receives no encouragement from his mother, Catherine, who regards military schools as "fascist" and is firmly convinced that her son is too stupid to pass the entrance examination.
Charles makes the acquaintance of Justin McLeod, a painter living in a large house on the island. Because of his reclusive nature, and because his face has been horribly disfigured in an accident, McLeod is treated with a mixture of fear and mockery by his neighbours, particularly the local children. Charles, however, discovers that McLeod was at one time a teacher, and asks him to tutor him for the entrance exam. The gruff, taciturn McLeod is at first reluctant, but he gradually warms to the boy, and a close friendship grows up between them. Charles comes to see him as a father-figure, especially after he makes the unwelcome discovery that his own father was not a war hero but an alcoholic who abandoned his family and later committed suicide.
Gibson initially wanted to cast another actor as McLeod, but was eventually persuaded to play the role himself. I think that that was the right decision; I have not seen all his films as an actor, but of the ones I have seen I think that he gave his best performances in this one and in Zeffirelli's "Hamlet". McLeod is a complex character who is more than an innocent victim. He is also haunted by feelings of guilt arising out of the car accident in which he was injured and his passenger, one of his pupils, was killed. It is these guilt feelings which have led to his becoming a recluse and to his refusing to have plastic surgery to correct his disfigurement. His mentoring of Charles can be seen as an attempt to make amends for his past. The young Nick Stahl is also very good as Charles.
Gibson has the reputation of being one of Hollywood's more conservative figures, and there are conservative aspects to "The Man without a Face". Although the film is set during the Vietnam War, a time when all things military were regarded with deep suspicion by a large section of American public opinion, Charles' ambition to attend a military academy is presented as a laudable one. The politically liberal Catherine is too wrapped up in her own emotional needs to consider those of her children. She has been married several times (her three children all have different fathers) and many of Charles' emotional problems stem from his unstable family background and the lack of a father-figure in his life. The title "The Man without a Face" can refer to the disfigured McLeod, but it can also refer to Charles' father who is "without a face" in the sense that his son has no mental image of him.
In another respect, however, the film can be seen as having a liberal theme, although not in the narrowly political meaning of that word. The local people's distrust of McLeod does not derive solely from his disfigured appearance. He is also rumoured to be a paedophile, and his friendship with Charles is therefore seen by many, including the local police chief, as deeply suspicious. I note that one reviewer actually concludes that McLeod is a paedophile and that another thinks that the film would be more interesting if he were to be portrayed as one. I think both these viewpoints are wrong. It seems quite clear from the film that the relationship between McLeod and Charles is platonic and non-sexual. If it were otherwise McLeod would be a detestable character rather than a pitiable one, and the film's key theme- that of not judging people, particularly those who are in some way different, on the basis of suspicion, rumour and unfounded accusations- would be fatally undermined.
Of Gibson's four films as a director I think that "The Man without a Face" is, together with the very different "The Passion of the Christ", the best. It is a well-told human drama, a sensitive exploration of the teacher-pupil relationship and of the corrosive effects of suspicion and prejudice. It is certainly better than the overblown and overrated "Braveheart" for which he won an Oscar. 8/10
Mel Gibson's first film as director is set during one summer in the late sixties. Charles Norstadt, a twelve-year-old boy, is on holiday with his mother and two half-sisters on an island off the coast of Maine. He has ambitions to attend the same military academy as his late father, who he believes was a war hero, but receives no encouragement from his mother, Catherine, who regards military schools as "fascist" and is firmly convinced that her son is too stupid to pass the entrance examination.
Charles makes the acquaintance of Justin McLeod, a painter living in a large house on the island. Because of his reclusive nature, and because his face has been horribly disfigured in an accident, McLeod is treated with a mixture of fear and mockery by his neighbours, particularly the local children. Charles, however, discovers that McLeod was at one time a teacher, and asks him to tutor him for the entrance exam. The gruff, taciturn McLeod is at first reluctant, but he gradually warms to the boy, and a close friendship grows up between them. Charles comes to see him as a father-figure, especially after he makes the unwelcome discovery that his own father was not a war hero but an alcoholic who abandoned his family and later committed suicide.
Gibson initially wanted to cast another actor as McLeod, but was eventually persuaded to play the role himself. I think that that was the right decision; I have not seen all his films as an actor, but of the ones I have seen I think that he gave his best performances in this one and in Zeffirelli's "Hamlet". McLeod is a complex character who is more than an innocent victim. He is also haunted by feelings of guilt arising out of the car accident in which he was injured and his passenger, one of his pupils, was killed. It is these guilt feelings which have led to his becoming a recluse and to his refusing to have plastic surgery to correct his disfigurement. His mentoring of Charles can be seen as an attempt to make amends for his past. The young Nick Stahl is also very good as Charles.
Gibson has the reputation of being one of Hollywood's more conservative figures, and there are conservative aspects to "The Man without a Face". Although the film is set during the Vietnam War, a time when all things military were regarded with deep suspicion by a large section of American public opinion, Charles' ambition to attend a military academy is presented as a laudable one. The politically liberal Catherine is too wrapped up in her own emotional needs to consider those of her children. She has been married several times (her three children all have different fathers) and many of Charles' emotional problems stem from his unstable family background and the lack of a father-figure in his life. The title "The Man without a Face" can refer to the disfigured McLeod, but it can also refer to Charles' father who is "without a face" in the sense that his son has no mental image of him.
In another respect, however, the film can be seen as having a liberal theme, although not in the narrowly political meaning of that word. The local people's distrust of McLeod does not derive solely from his disfigured appearance. He is also rumoured to be a paedophile, and his friendship with Charles is therefore seen by many, including the local police chief, as deeply suspicious. I note that one reviewer actually concludes that McLeod is a paedophile and that another thinks that the film would be more interesting if he were to be portrayed as one. I think both these viewpoints are wrong. It seems quite clear from the film that the relationship between McLeod and Charles is platonic and non-sexual. If it were otherwise McLeod would be a detestable character rather than a pitiable one, and the film's key theme- that of not judging people, particularly those who are in some way different, on the basis of suspicion, rumour and unfounded accusations- would be fatally undermined.
Of Gibson's four films as a director I think that "The Man without a Face" is, together with the very different "The Passion of the Christ", the best. It is a well-told human drama, a sensitive exploration of the teacher-pupil relationship and of the corrosive effects of suspicion and prejudice. It is certainly better than the overblown and overrated "Braveheart" for which he won an Oscar. 8/10