Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto" is "brilliant," proclaims Variety editor Peter Bart, so does that mean that "Braveheart's" Oscar champ can really make a dazzling comeback to academy glory after his fall from grace on the Pacific Coast highway?
"Apocalypto" started out early this year high on most Oscarologists' forecast lists and Disney was so convinced of its kudos potential that it gave the film an Oscar-friendly release date in early December. Soon after Mel's arrest, however, it fell off everybody's lists except those keeping track of the crafts races.
"The word has seeped out: From Mel Gibson's dark, troubled mind has emerged yet another brilliant exercise in filmmaking, extremely violent, yet compelling," Bart reports. "The inner demons that play havoc with his personal life continue to energize his creative vision."
But Bart also notes a few drawbacks "Apocalypto" has, in addition to the PR ills of its director: "The film itself represents a defiantly maverick voice. Subtitles run throughout. The cast is totally non-professional. The action is virtually nonstop and the confrontations brutal."
That brutality may be as serious an issue as Mel's anti-Semitic outburst since academy members are notoriously squeamish and usually swing back at violent films by excluding them, but not always. Mel surmounted the problem with "Braveheart," which featured three hours of flying severed body parts.
There may even be hope that Jewish academy members could forgive Mel for his tirade. After all, they didn't penalize "A Beautiful Mind" for portraying its real-life subject John Nash as a hero, a man who believed in an international Zionist conspiracy and even insisted that all of the big problems he faced in life could be traced to Jews.
But Mel's views received much more publicity and seem more shocking because he's someone we know well. Heck, he's an academy member! Sure, he apologized in a few public statements, but when it came time for him to sit down with Diane Sawyer, he didn't say the words on TV camera and he didn't ask for forgiveness. Instead, he blamed the booze and swam in lots of self-pity. That may not matter, though. The public perception today is that he did apologize then.
Bottom line: "Apocalypto" doesn't resemble an inspiring heart-tugger like "A Beautiful Mind" and other Oscar champs. Perhaps a good action flick, yes, which can help redeem Mel with filmgoers and prove he's still in the game, but that's not enough. Or is this one of those rare exceptions like the violent "The French Connection"?
(Photo: Disney)
http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2006/11/brilliant_apoca.html
http://apocalypto.movies.go.com/
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