A Walk Among The Tombstones

The good news is that Liam Neeson is back again. The better news is that this time around he isn’t chasing his tail in a predictable script that involves finding someone who has been kidnapped within 24 hours.  Or for that matter trying to save an aircraft full of passengers from impending doom.

Thankfully, A Walk Among The Tombstones, is a movie that requires Liam Neeson to showcase what he is more reputed for – his acting skills.  An aspect of his repertoire that all of us (including those who don’t like Neeson – a very insignificant portion of the audience I am certain) would be very glad to watch.

Matt Scudder (Liam Neeson) is a NY Cop who usually shows a big middle finger to the rules.  He drinks on the job.  Shoots First, asks questions later. Everything you would associate with a corrupt cop.  Unluckily for 3 thugs, they decide to hold-up the bar which serves free drinks to cops.  Scudder gives chase and takes them down.  That was 1983.

Cut to 1991 where Scudder is now a regular at Alcoholics Anonymous.  He has been sober for 8 years.  He is now a private detective who is offered a job to find the killers of Carrie Cristo w/o Kenny Cristo (Dan Stevens).  Kenny is in the “construction” business and has no idea why anyone would have wanted to kill his wife.

Scudder refuses at first but is persuaded when Kenny gives him the entire story.  More importantly, he is the first to establish a link between Carrie and a couple of other unsolved murders in the city over the past year or so.  Helping him with his search is TJ (Astro) – short for TJ – a homeless African American teenager who is a bit too smart for his own good.

A Walk Among The Tombstones is not a fast paced thriller by any stretch of imagination.  But it isn’t a slow movie either.  It maintains a steady tempo over 2 hours and builds well into a climax where I thought that the director, Scott Frank, could have hit the audience harder. The other aspect would be a couple of instances where you can predict what is going to happen next.

Neeson is controlled as always but doesn’t steal all the screen presence thanks to a solid cast that doesn’t get over awed by the moment.  The story doesn’t meander aimlessly and is kept tight.  Good to see a movie that is ever so slightly different from the usual one that shows Neeson running around an exotic location.  Worth a dekko. 6.5 on 10.

Watch the trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1449635097/?ref_=tt_ov_vi