Mel Gibson on new film Hacksaw Ridge and his religious belief in licence plates

MEL Gibson is back. But while his new film is getting rave reviews, he’s still as kooky as ever, if his interview with news.com.au is anything to go by.

“IT’S been a weird 10 years for me. I’ve been up and down and all over the place. I’ve done a lot of work on myself, which is ongoing, but I am in a really healthy place right now. If I get any healthier, I’ll levitate,” an elated, albeit jet-lagged Mel Gibson tells news.com.au.

He is of course referring to a string of scandals beginning with an alcoholic-fuelled anti-Semitic rant in 2006 when a police officer in Malibu pulled him over — to a plea of no contest to a misdemeanour battery charge concerning his then-girlfriend, Russian singer-songwriter, Oksana Grigorieva, in 2011.

Considering Gibson’s professional and personal history, he is well-versed in the art of war — both on and off the battlefield, in and out of the courtroom. “You pick your battles.” He pauses. “Sometimes compromise is a good thing.”

The trajectory of Gibson, now 60, undeniably proves that Hollywood loves a comeback. When he arrived on the red carpet to present Hacksaw Ridge, the true story about a pacifist (portrayed by Andrew Garfield) serving in World War II, he was met with a resounding roar from the crowd.

Director and actor Mel Gibson poses as he arrives on the red carpet for "Hacksaw Ridge" at the 73rd annual Venice International Film Festival, in Venice, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. (Ettore Ferrari/ANSA via AP)

Amid the death and destruction that is Hacksaw Ridge, the movie is primarily about faith, something that resonates with Gibson, a practising Catholic.

“I think there is something in us that instinctively knows that there is something better than us. In fact, if I am God, we are all in trouble, OK?” he laughs.

“So there’s got to be something better than me, because I am pretty flawed. And so, of course I believe in that and it manifests itself to me in different ways sometimes.” He leans forward. “This is going to sound really weird, but sometimes licence plates talk to me. This sounds crazy, right? But sometimes you can have a very clear message on a licence plate.”

We are chatting at the glamorous Excelsior Hotel, situated on Venice’s island of Lido, a few minutes after the premiere of his directorial offering where he received an extended standing ovation.

Naturally, war movies are violent. But Hacksaw Ridge takes it to another level and makes Saving Private Ryan look family fare.

“Well, it’s a visceral f**king spine-shake, f**king bastard movie,” he concurs. “But I think in order to tell the story of someone who goes into the worst place on earth, it has to necessarily be pretty hideous or you don’t see the degree of difficulty and the level of sacrifice that he was able to make. So yeah, I think it needed to be.”

The cast is a veritable who’s who of Aussie actors including Teresa Palmer, Hugo Weaving, Sam Worthington, Rachel Griffiths, Ryan Corr, Richard Roxburgh and Luke Bracey.

“It was a fully Australian film,” Gibson says proudly. “And that’s amazing to me because I think that is the kind of mark of maturity in storytelling filmically in Australia comprised of the talent pool, the crews and the production managers and the cinematographers and the actors.

“The whole production was 100 per cent and it shows that you can take a universal story and we could tell it there. That’s pretty cool,” he says.

Actor Hugo Weaving (L), director Mel Gibson and actress Teresa Palmer arrive for the premiere of "Hacksaw Ridge" presented out competition at the 73rd Venice Film Festival on September 4, 2016 at Venice Lido. / AFP PHOTO / FILIPPO MONTEFORTE

If the reviews are any indication, Australia will be well represented at award season next year. “It’s wonderful to receive an accolade or an atta boy. We all want affirmation. It’s nice but I don’t work or make films like a chef. I don’t make a dish for an elite, I like it to go as wide as possible and for a lot of people that try it.

“They can hate it, eat it up or throw it up, I just like to present it to as many as possible. And that to me is like sharing or giving.”

It’s 10 years since Gibson’s last film, Apocalytpo, and this comeback has been a long and arduous one.

“Time is a funny thing. When you look back on it, it’s like a heartbeat. In fact, my last breath, it’s all going to seem like that,” he says, snapping his fingers.

“And that is kind of a frightening thought. And then two weeks later, maybe somebody will read your name on a piece of granite someplace or somebody will be sprinkling some chalk dust out of an urn,” he says.

“But this is what I do. I tell little stories on celluloid.” He smiles. “It’s all good.”

Originally published as Mel Gibson on new film Hacksaw Ridge and his religious belief in licence plates