There's nothing overly original about A Walk Among the Tombstones, and Liam Neeson's character is largely forgettable. But beneath all the cliches about tragic former cops, redemptive drug dealers, and child prodigies as sidekicks, is a modestly entertaining crime saga, taking its cues from film noir and applying it to a modern setting.
Scott Frank proves capable of bringing his own screenplay to life, but unfortunately, moments of brilliance are underscored by a crop of tired images. There's some real beauty in some of his shots, particularly the opening credits, which turns a loving scene into a sexual nightmare. But for every great scene, there's two bad ones that take its place. It's like the hydra of crime movies.
A Walk Among the Tombstones is based on the novel by Lawrence Block, and features Liam Neeson as a former cop who moonlights as an unlicensed private detective. He gets involved with a drug dealer named Kenny Kristo (Dan Stevens), who is reeling from his kidnapped wife's murder. Neeson goes on a hunt for her murderers, working with a homeless child (Brian Bradley) to track them down.
The main protagonist proves a much less interesting character than he ought to be, though that's no fault of Neeson's. In some ways, his lack of a backstory is actually a relief on the part of the viewer, as it doesn't delve into that particular cliche. However, as a popular character in the realm of literature, a little bit of a character history would have been nice. As such, we're stuck with a one-dimensional detective that experiences no real danger in the film.
The story does put an intriguing spin on the crime drama, as Neeson's character works for a drug dealer instead of the victim of one. That being said, we get no real glimpse into Kristo's criminal actions- hindering the narrative's attempts to uniquely victimize his character. TJ, on the other hand, proves more interesting than your average child character because of his sharp chemistry with Neeson. Plus, he has some angles that make him one of the more developed characters in the story.
While the film's pacing is nimble and the scenes are the to-the-point, there's still room for improvement in the director's style of editing. A recurring motif in the film's climax is stretched to infinity, and there's a lot of useless characters and subplots. However, this does feel like a 2014 film noir, and it's a shame the story couldn't be rendered in black and white to really emphasize the grittiness of the plot. As it stands, though, this feels more like Criminal Minds than Se7en.
Frank has a solid story to work with, and a character that has proven popular among book circles. But the screenwriter/director takes Sam Spade and turns him into Brian Mills. That may translate well for bringing Neeson on to the project, but not for bringing A Walk Among the Tombstones out of the graveyard of film tropes.
