The Man Without a Face

The Man Without a Face (1993) is a drama you can watch online on iFILM, and it marks Mel Gibson's first time in the director's chair. He also takes one of the two lead roles.

Twelve-year-old Chuck Norstadt (Nick Stahl) is the only boy in a house full of bickering women and a string of stepfathers. He's desperate to escape to a military academy, but he fails the entrance exam. The one person willing to tutor him is Justin McLeod, a former teacher who keeps to himself at the edge of town. Half his face is scarred by burns, and the locals trade rumors about why: a car wreck, a dead teenager, a manslaughter conviction. The closer the boy and his mentor grow, the uglier the town's whispers about their friendship become.

Gibson directs from Isabelle Holland's novel and keeps the tone restrained, letting silence do the work. Stahl, in his debut, holds his own opposite a far more seasoned co-star. At its core this is a story about one adult's faith pulling a kid back from the edge. Stream The Man Without a Face (1993) online on iFILM.