By Jamil Oakford/se news editor
A Walk Among the Tombstones chronicles the drama of an ex-cop-turned-private-detective as he tries to piece together a rape-murder.
Liam Neeson, no stranger to the stoic hero who’s around the edges, plays ex-cop Matt Scudder and Dan Stevens, most famous for his role in Downton Abbey, portrays the grieving husband Kenny.
The movie starts with a flashback to Matt’s earlier career before we’re brought to the present day with him sitting at a diner. It doesn’t take long for this movie to get to the point. Very succinct writing throws the audience into the story pretty quick.
The audience learns that Matt is no longer a cop as he heads out to the home of a friend’s brother on the nice side of town.
It’s here that Kenny is introduced, and he explains that he wants Matt to find the men who raped and murdered his wife.
From there, the audience is subjected to an hour and 54 minutes of very slow-burn tension. A scene shared between Matt and a groundskeeper feels long in length and tense.
Yet, the story lacks extemporaneous scenes. Every scene serves a purpose to the overall plot and help guide the audience to the next clue or fact.
And that’s probably the hardest part of the whole movie: discovering the gut-wrenching facts to the story. At times, this makes the film hard to watch and kind of moves the audience to beg for mercy and let it end.
Neeson gives a performance not too far removed from his previous movies Taken or Non-Stop.
And Stevens’ performance as a husband who wants to know who did this and get his own retribution gives another face to grief, one that isn’t always highlighted in film.
Less is more for this movie. With few characters, it’s nearly impossible to get too confused with the exchange of names.
Overall, this movie isn’t for the weak of heart. With a tension similar to Prisoners, it’s a movie made for people who don’t mind facing a brutal reality.
Tread carefully while walking among the tombstones with Neeson.
