Plot
The film takes place in the late 1960s. For the past seven years, Justin McLeod (Gibson) has been living as a recluse painter. McLeod, a former teacher, has lived an isolated existence ever since a car accident left him disfigured down the right side of his face and chest by burns sustained in the post-crash fire.
A young boy, Chuck, sees McLeod on a ferry and is intrigued by and slightly scared of him. Chuck needs a tutor to help him pass a military academy's entrance exam and McLeod seems to be the only one that truly believes he can and will succeed. Eventually, Chuck is able to persuade McLeod to become his teacher and the two develop a friendship.
Chuck keeps his daily meetings with McLeod a secret to avoid the scorn of being associated with the disfigured man with a past shrouded in mystery. No one knows much about McLeod and few people made an effort to get to know him, making McLeod the object of gossip, speculation and suspicion.
When Chuck's mother learns that her son has been visiting Mcleod, she and the rest of the town are convinced that McLeod must have been molesting Chuck, despite Chuck's adamant denials. Chuck researches McLeod's car accident, which involves the death of another boy, but is made to see a psychiatrist.
Chuck inevitably confronts McLeod to learn the truth of his disfigurement and relationship with the boy: that simply because McLeod was in a car accident with a student of his, he was branded a pedophile and exiled from his hometown, also being convicted of involuntary manslaughter, having served three years in prison. Once his relationship with Chuck is openly known, McLeod is once again railed out of town and ordered by the authorities to have no contact with Chuck.
On his way out of town, McLeod leaves Chuck a note wishing him the best of luck in his academic goals and reminds him to be tolerant with people who are different.
In the film's finale, Chuck is shown graduating from the military academy and sees a familiar figure in the background, recognizing it as his tutor, the man without a face.
Read more about this topic: The Man Without A Face
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