A Walk Among the Tombstones makes Alasdair Stuarts Years Best list: Liam Neeson has a type. He’s become the go to for ‘Physically imposing, emotionally compromised older action hero’ and it’s easy to see why. Neeson’s a big guy, articulate with it and brings the weight of experience, including real grief and tragedy to any given role. That led to his revelatory work in The Grey and, I was immensely relieved to see, notably lighter roles following that. His work here is the embodiment of that. Matt Scudder is a textbook Neeson character; troubled, blood on his hands and all too aware of it, but he’s also something very new. Scudder’s made his piece with his devils and the entire movie is really about what happens when that peace is challenged. It’s a really smart, subtle piece of writing and performance that marks the film out as something both very new and a little old fashioned. Were Chandler writing today, Philip Marlowe would nod at Matt Scudder across the bar or eat at the same diner. It’s a quietly epochal role for Neeson and, along with Denzel Washington’s turn in The Equalizer this year, takes the ‘lone hero’ role into more mature and more interesting territory. That, along with an excellent, buttoned down supporting turn by Dan Stevens puts the movie on this list. Scott Frank’s buttoned down, elegant direction and excellent, pared down adaptation of Lawrence Block’s tight, noirish fist of a book keeps it there. Oh and here’s the excellent cover of Black Hole Sun used in that trailer. tinyurl/kryv4tm
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 14:55:59 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015