Mel Gibson's directorial debut is a tale of man's inhumanity to man and readiness to believe the worst. Gibson himself stars as a disfigured recluse shunned by the nearby townsfolk, but reluctantly drawn into tutoring a troubled 12-year-old boy (Nick Stahl), who believes his only chance to escape the grasp of a mother about to embark on her fourth husband is to go to military academy like his dad. But there are secrets from their pasts - and these will threaten a relationship between man and boy that gradually grows into something special. Although at times the tutoring borders on the tedious, Gibson pushes his key plot developments through at just the right time, and ties everything together in an emotive ending that may have you punching the air. Young Stahl's dialogue is occasionally difficult to hear, yet he, like Gibson, still creates an unforgettable figure of alienation and isolation. A memorable movie from Mel. His next, Braveheart, would win him the Oscar.

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