Mel Gibson marked his directorial debut with this low-key coming-of-age drama set in the late 1960s. Gibson also takes the title role of the horribly scarred former teacher, who lives a reclusive life away from the gossip of his small-town neighbours. He is gradually drawn out of his shell by an unhappy young boy (Nick Stahl) who secures Gibson's services as a tutor, but their close relationship eventually comes back to haunt him. Gibson takes a back seat to his young lead, and Stahl doesn't disappoint, delivering a moving, intense performance. The support cast, including Margaret Whitton as Stahl's marriage-happy mother, plays characters that are also skilfully drawn, and, although Gibson the director sometimes errs too much on the side of sentimentality, it remains an assured debut.

Justin McLeod is a former teacher who lives as a recluse on the edge of town after his face is disfigured from an automobile accident ten years earlier, in which a boy was incinerated--and for which he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Also suspected of being a paedophile, he is befriended by Chuck, causing the town's suspicions and hostility to be ignited.