“In the land of saints and sinners”: Liam Neeson vindicates himself in an old-fashioned detective story | REVIEW | REVIEW | CRITICISM | SUMMARY | In the Land of Saints & Sinners | SKIP-ENTER

Two preliminary conclusions before commenting “In the land of saints and sinners”, the most recent premiere of Liam Neeson in Prime Video. The first: not even the most fanatical followers of the Irish actor can deny that his latest productions were in a descending line. Leaving aside the (variable) release dates, “Asesino sin memoria”, “Marlowe” and “Against the clock” were not even a shadow of the best films starring the 72-year-old actor today.

It is not necessary to compare with the “Taken” trilogy for the three examples mentioned above to be relegated. In the first, “Asesino sin memoria”, the actor played a hitman who, affected by Alzheimer’s, had to complete one last task, quite complicated in itself. In his turn, “Marlowe” (“Shadows of a Crime”) came out of, shall we say, the mold that has earned Neeson fans all over the planet. There, he plays detective Philip Marlowe, who – clad in an elegant suit and wearing a classic hat – had to find the missing lover of a millionaire woman named Clare Cavendish.

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But perhaps the most egregious example of a setback could be “Attack the Clock.” Directed by Nimród Antal, the film had the remembered ‘Brian Mills’ as a banking executive who put his work successes above his family until, unexpectedly, he receives a threatening phone call while taking his children to school: if he slows down your truck, the detonator of a bomb of terrible proportions will be activated. To avoid this, he had to agree to a request from (alleged) cyber thieves, who hoped to get money from his company.

Nor is it that one expects the aura of “Relentless Pursuit” to be repeated in each new film. Liam Neeson, but at least one expects an average level, as happened in “Revenge Below Zero”, “One Night to Survive” and even in “Non-Stop”. And if none of the options we mentioned at the beginning of this note happened, we have had to wait for the end of the pandemic for destiny to put things in their place. “In the land of saints and sinners” restores faith in one of the icons of action cinema of the last decades, and below we will explain the reasons.

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“In the land of saints and sinners” tells the story of Finbar Murphy (Liam Neeson), an old hitman who has made Glencolmcille, a town located in County Donegal, Ireland, his theater of operations for decades. Of course – and this is something that is repeated in several of the films that have our action hero as the protagonist – we are dealing with a self-absorbed guy, whose gray past seems to make his steps even slower than those attributable to a person of his kind. age.

That personality of Finbar is mixed with another very characteristic characteristic of Neeson’s typical characters: loneliness, although this time with a slight variation. In the film directed by Robert Lorenz, our protagonist lives alone, he has no family, but several members of the town where he resides can be considered as such. From Vincent (Ciarán Hinds), the local police officer, to Sinéad (Sarah Greene), the one who tends the bar, through Moya (Michelle Gleeson), the latter’s daughter, a girl who will lead us to the central event of the plot. : the crime that unleashes everything.

As in every small town, Finbar unintentionally discovers that Curtis (Desmond Eastwood), Moya’s uncle-in-law, maintains an atmosphere of aggression in his house. Detecting bruises on the minor’s neck and hearing her say “he’s not my uncle” with contained fury convince him that she must finish him off. But, although he could do it himself, he decides to go to his employer, Robert McQue (Colm Meaney), to ask him to hire another young hitman (Kevin Lynch / Jack Gleeson) to take care of the ‘little job’.

As it is becoming clear, if something has “In the land of saints and sinners“They are diverse characters. To the head of hitmen and the ‘successor’ of the retired Finbar we can add, also mentioned before, the police officer Vincent, the owner of the bar Sinéad, the neighbor Rita (Niamh Cusack), the neighbors who have one too many drinks all the nights, and even to the immigrant who makes a living making music in the emblematic bar. All the pieces to place us in a town in Ireland in the 70s.

In the midst of all these personalities there is, however, one that connects especially with Finbar. It’s about Vincent. Although he does not know the ‘job’ of his friend, he is curious about the link between ‘man of the law’ and criminal. They both have shooting competitions with cans and bottles, play jokes, and detail their personal activities. Everything except dealing in depth with something that is gradually threatening the people: the presence of terrorists who “fight for the freedom of Ireland.”

Before continuing, it is time to mention the second conclusion that we advanced at the beginning of this note. And it has to do with the way the film has been released. Robert Lorenz’s film came out in the last quarter of 2023. Being almost in the middle of 2024, it did not reach Peruvian cinemas, nor did “Against the Clock” and much less “Marlowe”. It is clear that, at least in the short term, we will have to get used to watching some of Neeson’s next films only when they arrive on the different networks that make up the streaming ecosystem.

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A POLICE CLASSIC WITH ALL ITS ELEMENTS

“In the land of saints and sinners” is not a political film, and this is clear because its references to what happened in that turbulent political decade for the country belonging to the United Kingdom are minor. Perhaps the most notable expression of the aforementioned moment has to do with the existence of a cell of subversives headed by Doireann McCann, played by a notable Kerry Condon. The Irish actress has no qualms about subduing, verbally and physically, any of the other three members of her group (among whom is Moya’s uncle). It is she who leads, plans and executes attacks.

In the exhibition of who would become Finbar’s rival, Robert Lorenz’s film does very well in proposing counterpoints. She solves everything by shouting, he rather with cunning. She behaves with bitterness and bad words, he shows maturity and self-control. All this, of course, is confronted by the crime that breaks the harmony in Glencolmcille.

The revelation of responsibility for the aforementioned crime splits the film in two. From now on, Doireann will pursue Finbar tirelessly. Although our protagonist gave her the opportunity to reconsider, this seems to have made her angrier. And it is in the planning of the final attack that another link to highlight will emerge: that of the retired hitman with his successor, Kevin. What initially seemed to be a creaky relationship (with slaps included) is transformed, through remarkable dialogues, into the closest thing to a sincere friendship.

The terrorist cell chasing the town’s old hitman is what will guide much of the second wind of “In the land of saints and sinners”. There does not seem to be a comprehensive desire on the part of Robert Lorenz. We are faced with the right mix of action, suspense and drama, that is, in front of a classic police officer that has its main strengths in its interpretations and in the bonds that its characters manage to weave (friendship, hatred, revenge). An unbeatable opportunity to see, on the verge of 73 years, all the interpretive talent of Liam Neeson.