Sunday, September 21, 2014

Review of A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES: Throwback Noir

September 20, 2014




The book series by Lawrence Block upon which the lead character Matt Scudder was derived began in 1976. "A Walk Among the Tombstones" is based on the 10th book of the Scudder series with the same title, published in 1992. 

An ex-cop haunted by guilt, Matt Scudder (Liam Neeson) now operates as an "unlicensed" private detective. One day in 1999, he was hired by a wealthy young man Kenny Kristo (Dan Stevens) to track down two men (David Harbour and Adam David Thompson) who kidnapped and killed his wife Carrie. Scudder gets himself caught in a dark web of drug traffickers, psychotic serial killers and lonely denizens in the underbelly of New York City.

Lately, Liam Neeson is more known for his high-adrenaline action films like "Taken" and "Taken 2". He takes a departure from that type of hi- octane explosive vehicle to take on a more calculated, old-fashioned film noir in this one. Nevertheless, Neeson plays a character who is no less bad-ass, very much an action hero. Yet, his serious dramatic acting skills get to shine here, more than his brawn. He certainly portrayed this role with credibility and charisma. 

Aside from Neeson, there were some supporting characters that will capture your sympathy. There was James Loogan, the cemetery caretaker who loved pigeons, played so creepily well by Olafur Darri Olafsson. There was Howie, the addict who wants to but can't quit his drug habit, disarmingly played by Eric Nelsen. And finally, there was TJ, a homeless orphan who idolizes the likes of Spade and Marlowe, played with sensitivity, humor and heart by the young Brian "Astro" Bradley.

The storytelling by writer/director Scott Frank is very laid back and even contemplative in pace, with artistic cinematography by Mihai Malaimare Jr. The opening scene alone was a sensual slow-motion close-up flesh-on-white sequence with the real context only appearing at its end. There was also a scene of a young girl in a bright red hooded jacket crossing the street with her dog that was beautifully sinister.

This may disorient and even disappoint those fans who were expecting another "Taken" retread. Even the detective work is a throwback to the old school -- no hi-tech CSI stuff here. You get the same chilling vibe as other grisly crime thrillers like "Se7en" or "Zodiac" because this one also does not scrimp on the gore. "A Walk Among the Tombstones" may be less intellectual than those two mentioned, but Liam Neeson's engagingly on-point lead performance manages to lift it above the average crime drama film. 7/10.


17 comments:

  1. Ooo this looks like my kind of movie! I enjoy Liam Neeson, he is a great actor..

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  2. The movie plot sounds interesting. All the characters you mentioned are intriguing.. It will be fun to watch the film.

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  3. Woosh! 7/10! Haha, Liam Neeson is like everyone's dream dad after Taken... And I even joke with my dad how he can never save me like him if I was ever kidnapped overseas.... I will definitely catch it when it's out in my country! Till then!

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  4. I have seen both movies of Liam Neeson's Taken & Taken 2 and I totally agree with Tiffany is that he is a dream dad for all of children. I will definitely see it

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  5. I'm sad that Liam Neeson plays in so many action movies. He's such a great actor and his talent is wasted in movies like this. But I guess he gets paid really well.

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  6. I love the plot of this film noir and the appearance of Liam Neeson there gives me enough proof that the movie Walk among Tombstones is full of suspense and I should give it a try.

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  7. The main character Liam Neeson released his aura for this film. He's got the male model of being the perfect law enforcer. Nice to watched him as disgruntled cop.

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  8. I think the slow paced, old-school story telling would be a welcome change from today's mainstream concept. Liam Neeson is also such a great actor.

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  9. Neeson is the one who push me to watch this film. Thanks for the review. I will check this out in local cinema. I think it is up on big screen now.

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  10. this is definitely a break of his high-adrenaline films but with neeson starring in it, i bet it's going to be a hit! thanks for sharing! :)

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  11. Nice review. I don't story books at all! But I did like the snapshot of it from your review.

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  12. I'm always a huge fan of these type of movies. Liam is one heck of an actor. And now aside from the Equalizer, I'll definitely put this on my list.

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  13. Awww love this review! ill try this one thanks

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  14. ive seen the cover of this before. however i cannot handle gore lol

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  15. Very interesting plot of the movie. Hoe i can watch this soon.

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  16. I love Liam Neeson and would watch almost everything he does because he is a talented powerhouse... But the scary stuff is a big No for me... Sorry!

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  17. I have seen both “Taken 2” and “Unknown” liam neeson movies but my favorite one is taken2. I didn’t like this Unknown movie much, but I will say this is also worth to watch at least once. Pleas update some more move lists if you have.

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