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Criminals, Crooked Cops, and Cigarettes: A Look at Mel Gibson’s ‘Payback’

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Mel Gibson and Brian Helgeland had everything going for them in the ’90s. Mel nabbed his two Oscars for producing and directing Braveheart, and Helgeland nabbed his Oscar for adapting L.A. Confidential, both of which are some of the finest American films of the latter half of the 20th century. The two met during the production of Conspiracy Theory, which was also written by Helgeland. During that time Helgeland came across The Hunter, a crime novel written by Donald Westlake (under his pseudonym Richard Stark). After working it into a script, he had Mel read it over and even offered him to star in the lead role. Mel agreed to the part and Helgeland took on his first feature film as the director. Payback would be their last movie to close out the century, and while not recognized as an instant classic and huge success at the time of its release, there’s no question that it is one of my favorite crime/noir movies of all time and it deserves more recoginition.

It’s important to note that there are two different versions of this movie: the theatrical and director’s cut. Surprisingly, I actually side with the studio executives for once and enjoy the theatrical cut more than Helgeland’s version. The director’s cut has an entirely different third act with some additional scenes sprinkled throughout. If you are checking this movie out for the first time, seek out the theatrical version first before watching the director’s cut. There’s no question that the theatrical version is far superior. For purposes of this article, I am strictly referring to the theatrical cut.

Payback stars Mel Gibson as Porter, a small-time thief who stands ready to make his next big score. When his buddy Val comes along with a job involving a large payout, Porter agrees to help out. After completing the job and collecting the cash, Val, along with Porter’s wife, double cross him and leave him with nothing but two bullets in his back. Left for dead and empty-handed, Porter recovers from his wounds with one thing on his mind: $70,000. Determined to get his just due, Porter crosses paths with a variety of different criminals, a pair of crooked cops, and two crime syndicates, stopping at nothing to take back what is rightfully his.

It is immediately apparent that this film lacks a typical hero, per the noir tradition. The opening credits roll as Porter wanders the streets stealing from all walks of life. He steals from the homeless, doesn’t tip his waitress, dines and dashes, and lifts a credit card from a middle-class guy to go on a spending spree. Within the first five minutes I’m already wondering how I’m supposed to get behind this character for the rest of the movie. Every other character in the movie is just as bad, if not worse in a lot of ways. But what this movie does so well is that despite being void of “good guys” to root for, it still finds a way for you to root for the bad guy.

It becomes clear throughout the movie that it is not so much focused on what you know about the characters, but how you feel about them. Porter clearly does some despicable things, but at the same time he doesn’t necessarily feel like a despicable person. Val on the other hand, feels scummy. Not only do his actions reveal his true character, but there’s no shaking the slimy vibe that his character gives off. Other smaller characters give off a similar vibe despite not knowing anything about them. I love that about this movie. It’s not looking to dive into the history of the characters and their past in order to invoke how you should feel about them. It doesn’t feel the need to establish an origin story for Porter in order to justify why he does what he does. It allows you to feel around the room of each scene and pick up on the vibes of each character, telling you exactly what kind of person they are and how you should feel about them.

The world-building is excellent here and I can’t help but think it inspired certain elements of the world-building in John Wick. Porter’s journey doesn’t stop at Val, but leads him up the ladder of a crime syndicate that is headquartered at a hotel. We never really know what it is that they do or how each member got in their position, but we’re given just enough to get a sense of this extensive criminal underworld that prowls the city. The story could take place during the 70s just as much it could take place in the 90s. We don’t even know exactly what city the movie takes place in and yet, it works to its benefit. We’re just thrown into Porter’s world and watch how he deals with it and its various characters.

As I mentioned earlier, Porter is not a “good guy” by any standards. Regardless, we still find a way to sympathize with his situation. He’s clearly a loner with no connections and has no where to go. The only place he has to go after being shot is his apartment where his double-crossing wife still lives. Despite her shooting him in the back, it’s clear that he still cares about her, giving us a window into his attitude towards his relationships. He ultimately reconnects with his past acquaintance played by Maria Bello, who runs an escort business and helps Porter track down the right people. Their relationship further allows us to see Porter’s somewhat softer side and helps us to look past some of his more indecent behavior. Mel’s narration is also excellent. It lends us some insight into his character and how he interprets the situations happening around him.

Payback is easily one of the most underrated films of both Mel and Helgeland. At just over an hour and a half, its pacing is incredibly smooth and is able to build a small, but palpable world without spending too much time on its set up and back story of characters. It’s difficult to think of another one of Mel’s characters from his movies that rivals that of Porter. He’s one of the coolest characters and I wish we could’ve followed up with his character in a second movie. Remember this movie the next time you’re in the mood for a quick crime noir movie. It’s smooth, it’s fun, it’s Payback.

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Mel Gibson is Back

At one time, Mel Gibson was the kind of actor who could make any movie he wanted. He had the

‘Dragged Across Concrete’ Injects New Flavor Into Buddy Cop Genre

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S. Craig Zahler has made a name for himself in the industry. With his brutal western, Bone Tomahawk, and his merciless grind-house prison flick Brawl in Cell Block 99, Zahler has demonstrated his ability to draw in his audiences with intriguing characters, shocking violence, and gritty realism. While these films don’t receive a wide release, they manage to garner the same attention and discussion as bigger feature films due to their unique and controversial nature. Zahler’s latest film is no different.

Dragged Across Concrete stars Mel Gibson as Brett Ridgeman, a seasoned cop who is willing to bend the rules to ensure justice is served. Vince Vaughn stars as Anthony Lurasetti, a rookie cop taken under Ridgeman’s wing who is the voice of reason during their workday. Ridgeman and Lurasetti receive a six-week suspension from the force without pay after they are caught on video roughhousing a criminal while making a drug bust. Feeling betrayed by the system he has served for so long and struggling to make ends meet, Ridgeman decides to track down and steal from a band of criminals who plan to rob a bank. Lurasetti reluctantly agrees to tag along as the two set out to pursue an alternative method of justice in order to receive their proper compensation. Meanwhile, Henry Johns, played by Tory Kittles, has been recently released from prison. He is caught in between the action as he struggles to provide a better life for his mom and brother by stealing from the band of criminals he was hired to work for.

Clocking in at two hours and forty minutes, this is Zahler’s longest film to date. Zahler decides to use most of this time to showcase his writing ability instead of high-tension action sequences. The dialogue is remarkable and has a particular style of diction unique to Zahler. As usual, he makes a point to take his time with each character, allowing the audience to better understand motivations and gain multiple perspectives on the events as they unravel. The tension-filled scenes tend to act as a solid substitute for typical action sequences that we’re used to with his work. While this is his least violent film to date, it is not without its shockingly gruesome moments.

The manner in which Zahler portrays the bank robbers or “villains” truly embodies everything that is evil and upsetting. The most shockingly unpleasant scene happens during the bank heist. The way the heist itself is executed is original and unsettling. Jennifer Carpenter has an extended cameo as Kelly Summer, a new mother reluctantly returning from maternity leave to her day job at the bank. It’s easy to look at the amount of screen time that is given to her and view it as completely unnecessary, but Zahler does this to give a face, personality, and backstory to an innocent bystander that becomes victim to a heinous act of evil. It is highly effective in giving real weight to the situation while accurately demonstrating the kind of evil we’re dealing with.

Mel Gibson is as good as he’s ever been here. His character shares similarities in his personality traits and current situation that seem to resonate with the actor in his personal life. For example, Ridgeman is being rejected by a system that he has been serving and making his living off of for most of his life. This is reflective of the actor’s experience in Hollywood after the drunken rant that caused him to be a pariah. This brings a true sense of realism to his character and Mel is clearly enjoying himself. The back and forth between him and Vaughn sold me on their friendship and loyalty to one another, while also providing for some comedic moments to distract from the film’s grim tone. This film reminded me of why Mel is great at what he does, and I can only hope that we continue to see him take on more roles like this.

This movie grows on you long after the first viewing. It’s easy to go in expecting certain things out of it based on Zahler’s previous work. When those expectations aren’t met in the ways you thought they were going to be met, the immediate reaction after the credits roll might not be as favorable towards the film overall. But once the lens of certain expectations fades, you begin to notice and appreciate certain aspects of Zahler’s craft. His writing is definitely stronger here than ever before, making his characters more interesting and the film’s subtext a little more palpable than in his prior films. Zahler is someone that doesn’t allow controversy to hinder his storytelling. He puts care into his characters and takes his time with the story, making the final product very effective and worth your while. Dragged Across Concrete is another testament to his style and approach to film, and I sure hope it isn’t his last.

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Mel Gibson is Back

At one time, Mel Gibson was the kind of actor who could make any movie he wanted. He had the

Mel Gibson is Back

in Essays by

At one time, Mel Gibson was the kind of actor who could make any movie he wanted. He had the star power to command dollars at the box office and please the critics. If you were to tell somebody in the year 2000 that Mel’s career would soon be taking a hiatus, you would have garnered a good laugh. By the year 2004, Mel’s movies had grossed more than $3,000,000,000 worldwide, with 2 Oscar wins under his belt. The guy had it made! Nothing short of a racist rant while intoxicated would stop him. Unfortunately, that is exactly what led to Mel’s downfall in Hollywood. He has admitted to having an on-and-off drinking problem throughout his life and it finally got the best of him when he was arrested for a DUI in 2006. During this arrest he went on a racist and anti-Semitic rant to the cop arresting him.  The audio went public and damaged his career and reputation for the next decade.  In 2010, he started to see some steady work, but nothing that could free him from his bad reputation and the weight of his past transgressions. For the unforeseeable future, it would seem that Mel’s career would never return to the levels it was at once upon a time. That is, until 2016.

Ever since his rants and moments of shame, he has been very open and apologized profusely on talk shows and interviews. Even then, it is still hard for people to cut him a break. In August of 2016, Mel gave what I believe to be his best performance in the last 20 years, in the film Blood Father. He plays a tattoo artist/ex-con who has been in and out of rehab most of his life. Breaking ties and losing friendships along the way makes for a character that shares some similarities with the actor in real life. The opening scene of the movie is most certainly more than simple exposition. It is an apology Mel is making to his fans and Hollywood for his past mistakes. He has been working to learn and move on from his past, and is simply asking us to forgive him. I think it is time we finally allow Mel Gibson back into theaters. The rest of the movie is a non-stop thrill ride filled with some great action sequences blended perfectly with sentiment and symbolism. It is definitely one of my favorite movies of the year and is a strong vehicle to help put Mel back on stage.  It reminds us why we loved him in the first place.

Lucky for us, Mel would not only be giving us a fantastic acting performance in 2016, but what I believe to be an Oscar-worthy directed film: Hacksaw Ridge. This film tells the amazing true story of a WWII Army Medic, Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield), who goes into battle refusing to kill, let alone touch a weapon, all while saving more than 75 people in the middle of war. We haven’t seen war displayed on the big screen like this since Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan (1998). While the film industry has produced hundreds, if not thousands of movies depicting the horrors of war, Mel still manages to show us that he is a master behind the camera, giving us some original and beautifully crafted shots throughout the film. I have not had a film affect me the way this film did, nearly bringing me to tears at moments. It will definitely allow you to view our veterans in a different light and appreciate even more so what they went through for their country. But beyond veteran appreciation, Mel takes his time with the characters and the story and handles it all so perfectly. I managed to never check my watch even once.  It is a movie-going experience that I will not soon forget. This film is a must-see and most definitely became one of my favorites of the year.

Look, I know there are some people out there that are still offended by the terrible and awful things that Mel has said in years past.  He did say some disgusting things.  But who are we to deny him apology and forgiveness?  Are we not better than the worst things we have done? Do not let Mel’s past actions hinder you from having a satisfying and uplifting movie-going experience. This reminds me of the conversation of “separating the art from the artist.” If you are someone who loves the movies Chinatown or The Pianist, then you have already separated the actions of Roman Polanski from his masterpieces. You don’t have to love Mel Gibson and agree with everything he says or does, but you can appreciate his work and give credit to where credit is due. The fact that he recognizes his wrongdoings and has worked very hard in the last decade to come back into the spotlight is even more reason for me to support him. We all hope that the people we know can forgive us for our mistakes, and I suggest we try and do the same for him. Mel is back, and he’s here to stay.

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