Mel Gibson out of exile, on red carpet

Andrew Garfield and Mel Gibson arrive at the 22nd annual Critics' Choice Awards at the Barker Hangar. Photo / AP

Mel Gibson did the time and, after a decade in "director's jail", during which almost no one in Hollywood would work with him, he is apparently free.

His 2006 anti-Semitic tantrum during a drink-driving arrest has been all but forgotten; ditto those secretly recorded conversations in which he physically threatened the mother of his child while spewing racial epithets.

No matter, Gibson is back on top with three Golden Globe nominations for his latest directorial effort, Hacksaw Ridge.

The movie made the shortlist for best drama, as well as best actor, for Andrew Garfield, and best director for Gibson himself.

It was also named one of the 10 best of the year by the AFI and National Board of Review, and it won the best action movie prize at last night's Critics' Choice Awards.

Although Gibson has stayed largely out of the spotlight for the last decade, he has coincidentally made some of his most buzz-worthy appearances during that time at the Globes. In 2013, he was Jodie Foster's plus-one, reminding viewers at home of his existence.

Last year, Gibson had an awkward exchange with Ricky Gervais when the comedian, introducing the actor, searched for something nice to say before settling on, "I'd rather have a drink with him than Bill Cosby."

Gibson's return is clearly due only to the merits of his World War II drama about a conscientious objector. It appears that, despite his foibles, his work behind the camera has put him back in Hollywood's good graces.