A detective film disguised as an action movie disguised as a dark fairy tale, Scott Frank’s “A Walk Among the Tombstones” stumbles through the investigations of disillusioned cop–turned–private–eye Matt Scudder (Liam Neeson) hired by a drug trafficker (Dan Stevens) to track down the gang of sociopaths that murdered his wife.
If you’re looking to see Neeson pushing his acting skills to new heights, look elsewhere. But if you’re hoping to see Oskar Schindler punching bad guys and switching between bad New York and Irish accents, this is your film. Neeson continues to charm in his newfound calling as America’s go–to action protagonist, but he probably wasn’t the right choice for NYC wise–guy Scudder. While the name, place and reason for ass–kicking have changed, Neeson barely seems to care that he’s still the stiff, “I will find you, I will kill you,” fatherish figure we’ve all come to love.
Leading us through a Gothic vision of 1999 New York, “A Walk Among the Tombstones” conjures up questions of morality and immorality, though rarely with much subtlety. The film flip–flops from action–movie cliches to nihilistic preaching, and seems to be searching for its voice until the very end. When it finally invests fully in creating a world of stylized violence and amoral resolutions, the audience sits through an incongruous mood, poorly executed comedy and bizarrely stiff dialogue for an hour.
The film’s true pitfall, however, is its lack of originality. Any fan of HBO’s fantastic “True Detective” will quickly recognize the series’ neo–noir feel and nihilistic bend digested and repackaged by the slow–moving giants of Hollywood. “A Walk Among the Tombstones” seems to borrow direction in character development and even plot from the 12–part mini–series. You can skip the movie industry’s newest attempt at selling us back what we can get for free on the Internet (just, not on AirPennNet).
