In the Land of Saints and Sinners  ★★★½

LIAM Neeson is a good actor, but he usually seems to be just coasting along..

For the best part of a decade now, when he should be picking and choosing some great roles, he’s happy to have the B-grade venegeful father/husband character from the Taken films on constant rotation.

Until now. His latest film, In the Land of Saints and Sinners, is enough of a departure to make Neeson interesting again.

It’s still ultimately a tale of vengeance at its core, but the setting, narrative and character motivations set it apart.

Neeson plays Finbar Murphy, an ex-IRA assassin living in a small, windswept Irish coastal town. His lifelong friend, whom he meets each week for some target practice, is the local police sergeant, played by Ciarán Hinds.

But Murphy hasn’t quite left his past entirely behind and occasionally still carries out a hit for his long-time handler played by Colm Meaney.

Through certain events, Murphy ends up coming into direct conflict with a vicious IRA cell on the run after committing an atrocity in Dublin. They are led by Doireann McCann, played with relish by Kerry Condon.

As you can tell, the strong cast is one of the main reason for watching Mark Michael McNally’s second film which he directs strongly, particularly the final confrontation in and around the local pub.

The movie was filmed in Donegal which makes an Irishman like me keen to go back to the Old Country for a visit…minus the IRA shootouts.

Watched on Amazon Prime.