In the Land of Saints and Sinners Review

I've compared Liam Neeson's filmography since his breakout role in 2008's "Taken" to that of the late Charles Bronson, and with "In the Land of Saints and Sinners," he does his take on Bronson's "The Mechanic," only it plays out more like a slow-burning dramatic thriller than a nasty action picture.

Liam stars as Finbar Murphy, which is a hilarious name that only becomes more funny with how serious characters yell it at each other. He's, get this, an aging assassin who we see take his final gig under the employment of Robert (Colm Meaney). Why's that? I dunno, I suppose he's tired of the emotional toll, that or he's got his eye on the neighbor Rita (Niamh Cusack), who doesn't know how me makes his money. He frequents a little pub where another one of his neighbors bartends (Sinéad, played by Sarah Greene), and one day he notices her daughter's got a nasty bruise on her neck. This, of course, pisses him off and, well, it's like he never retired.

He kills the man responsible, Sinéad's brother-in-law (Desamond Eastwood), and that really sets off his sister Doireann (Kerry Condon), who, alongside her two friends, as terrorist who have no firm compunction about killing a group of children in a bombing at the start of the film. (She cares enough to try and warn the kids, but not enough to stop the explosion. She's a woman of violent precision.) 

Murphy works alongside his former coworker Kevin, played excellently by Jack Gleeson, a younger assassin also employed by Robert. When he finds out who he just killed and what she's willing to to, including but not limited to properly damage and abuse towards women, the two try and figure out how to take her and her friends out without breaking the relative peace of the small Irish town. He's weary and tired of the killing, where as Kevin almost gets excited, at one point calling it "getting paid to do what he likes." Their dynamic lacks the homoerotic undertones of director Michael Winner's far more exploitative "The Mechanic," but the whole "veteran and newbie" relationship is otherwise much the same. Murphy is hardened, almost bored of the fight, where as Kevin lusts over the bloodshed, finding humor in every bullet he fires.

Then there's Doireann, who's unhinged and played coldly. She's soon works her way through the village loudly and with purpose: the intent to cause destruction and pain. The three main players are really interesting to watch, even if their motivations are old cloth. Liam in particular seems to be one script away from finding his "Gran Torino" character, with how limited his hand-to-hand blows are compared to the aim of his trusty shotgun.

Director Robert Lorenz, who also helmed Neeson in 2021's "The Marksman," is equally restraint as he was in that movie, but the actors and implications (not to mention the move from PG-13 to a hard-R rating) left we wanting a bit more actual blood in the bloodshed.