April
15Mel’s Billion-Dollar Battle
The celebrity subculture embraces many conflicted, contorted individuals, but I’ve never encountered a more tortured soul than Mel Gibson. So it isn’t surprising that he is now caught up in what may be Hollywood’s priciest divorce suit.Few in this town would empathize with Gibson – he is mind-bendingly wealthy, his personal views are erratic and he has never exactly courted favor in the community. Still, there is something downright poignant about anyone as messed up – and as talented – as Gibson. My own personal encounters with him have run the gamut from fun to frosty.
What brings all this to mind is the fact that Gibson and his wife are suing each other for divorce after almost 30 years. Mel and Robyn just want out and at stake is almost a billion dollars. Paradoxically, it’s one of the greatest fortunes ever to come from, well, religion. Bear in mind that Gibson is a conservative Catholic, that much of his wealth comes from a movie called “The Passion of the Christ” and that he is a family man with seven kids.
Gibson owns an island in Fiji, has ranches in both Costa Rica and Australia and also has built a $30 million church in Malibu called the Holy Family Catholic Church. In recent years, he has sold ranches in Montana and an estate in Connecticut.
I have been in the company of Mel Gibson when he has been out-of-his-mind drunk, shouting denunciations of Vatican teachings. I’ve also been with him when he was subdued and sober, and full of remorse for his anti-Semitic blatherings. I have never really known anyone whose extremes of opinion and behavior have been more explosive.Or, for that matter, who possessed so much raw talent. His last directorial effort, “Apocalypto,” was, in my opinion, one of the most underrated films of its epoch. It displayed brilliant filmmaking technique, yet also that Gibsonian perversity. Its over-the-top violence kept many away and Gibson’s reputation negated any opportunity for awards.
Now Gibson is exactly where he least wants to be – center stage amid a personal ordeal. Again, most of us would instinctively express empathy for the man for whom no one wants to express empathy.
All things considered, I do.
Subscribe to Peter Bart's Blog Feed
Who knows what happens during the “dark night of the sole.†Sometimes we come out of it stronger and more self assured, sometimes the opposite. I believe Mel Gibson is broken like the rest of us. His wealth and fame keep his antics public and scrutinized but I think the best thing we can do is give him the space to work his life out with his wife, family and God.
Posted by: Understanding | 4/17/2009 12:53:46 PM
Apocalypto was the best picture that year - sheer cinematic brilliance!
Posted by: John | 4/16/2009 11:57:04 AM