Gibson film cops flak on all fronts
Movie’s ‘heroes’ have their own unsavoury pasts
Anew straight-to-streaming Mel Gibson movie has copped fierce backlash for both its casting and “insensitive” subject matter. The trailer for Force of Nature, released on Wednesday, has been met with an avalanche of criticism online with people arguing that not only is the plot problematic, but also the stars of the film — Mel Gibson and Emile Hirsch — are, as well.
They’ve also pointed out the film, which is loosely based around 2017’s Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, has “racist” elements, given the white cast members are the heroes, and the Puerto Rican islanders the villains.
Force of Nature follows Ray (Gibson) refusing to leave his home amid a Category 5 hurricane. Frustrated by her father’s stubbornness, his daughter, played by Kate Bosworth, calls an officer (Hirsch) to reason with Ray and get him to safety. Hirsch and Gibson later team up to fight a Latino gang who try to break into his apartment complex.
The setting in Puerto Rico — which was devastated by Hurricane Maria three years ago — and casting of two white actors fighting a Latino gang stirred up plenty of distaste on social media, with Twitter users also pointing out that the film’s “heroes” have their own unsavoury pasts offscreen.
Gibson has a history of antisemitism and has been accused of domestic violence, and Hirsch was charged with assaulting a female film executive in 2015.
Gibson, who grew up in Sydney, has suffered irreparable damage to his career over the years, with some of the industry’s top players refusing to work with him.
In 2006, the actor was arrested for drink driving and was caught on tape making anti-Semitic remarks to the arresting officer.
As for Hirsch, the 35-year-old actor was sentenced to 15 days in jail in 2015 after pleading guilty to the assault of Daniele Bernfeld, an executive for Paramount Pictures. He was found to have choked Bernfeld at a nightclub during the Sundance Film Festival.