Movie Review: A Walk Among the Tombstones

Scott Frank (The Lookout) decided September would be a good time to take us for A Walk Among the Tombstones.

We start by seeing Scudder (Liam Neeson, Darkman) off duty as a cop in the early 90's.  He witnesses a couple of guys robbing a bar and deals with it.  This ends in a way that affects him enough to quit the force.  Cut to 1999, where he is now working as an unlicensed private detective.  He gets pulled into a bizarre case when a drug dealer (Dan Stevens, The Guest) hires him to find out who kidnapped his girlfriend.  Things escalate when he finds that this is not the first, or last, time that these kidnappers have hit someone.

If you're looking for another non-stop (pun, totally intended) action flick from Neeson, then you've come to the wrong place.  This is not another Taken clone, but rather more of a mystery thriller and a character piece.  And not a bad one at that.  The plot itself doesn't take you to too many new places, but the dialogue and acting elevate this film above the mediocre level.  I don't think all of the action movies that Neeson has been doing have been that bad really, but they're not a real showcase of his talent.  He's given a little more to work with in this film though, and I think he really shines.  He's conflicted when given the new case because he's a good man and doesn't want to help a drug dealer. He even refuses at first.  Then he finds out what happened to the girlfriend, and he gets pulled in. He is also kind of alone and haunted by his past, but finds a friend in a homeless teen named TJ (Astro, Earth To Echo).

One weak spot in the film would have to be parts of the relationship between Scudder and TJ.  They work together pretty well for most of their time together.  However, they have a few scenes together where the dialog gets a little clunky.  TJ also is forced to become a little too convenient of a plot device at some points.  With what he's given, he does do a fine job of making it work for the most part.  Another shining star in this film though, is Dan Stevens who plays the drug dealer hiring the detective.  I am not real familiar with his work right now, but this film definitely has me alert to look for more of his stuff.  He apparently has a big role on the ever-so-popular BBC show, "Downton Abbey".  In here he is given the role of an icy drug dealer who's got a bit of a hard edge to him.  On top of this, he let's a vulnerability show through when talking about his missing girlfriend, while still maintaining that edge.  It's a fine line, and he walks it well.

Another thing to note is the time setting of 1999.  It's appropriate because this looks and feels like a gritty 90's thriller more so than the glossy, polished films we get now.  Scudder is the grumpy old detective that doesn't want to learn technology.  Having this film set in '99 helps sell that.  The internet and cell phones were still new-ish at the time.  Him not wanting a cell phone, or wanting to learn to use the internet were legitimate.  Try being a detective in this day and age without those skills and you'll probably be laughed right out of a job.  The only time this became a little distracting was with too many mentions of the Y2K scare.  It worked as a one-off joke about why he doesn't want to bother learning how to use a computer himself.  From there, it just got annoying with all the references.

This film is by no means an Oscar contender or anything, but it really holds it's own.  It is a little slower paced, but it's a nice throwback to the older more deliberate, character driven thrillers.  If you're looking for some solid acting and good dialogue, then this little mystery is not a bad choice.  It's a good chance to see Neeson do something a little different for a change, while still getting some of that shoot 'em up action he does so well in the last act.

Rating: ******---- (6 out of 10)

Memorable Quote:

Scudder: Chased 'em into the street, shot two dead.....got a third one in the leg.