Review: Neeson seeks redemption 'In the Land of Saints and Sinners'

Liam Neeson goes back home to Ireland in "In the Land of Saints and Sinners," a sharp action thriller in which he plays a character who's trying to leave his particular set of skills behind and lead a quiet life.

For a few minutes at least, it looks like that's the way he's heading. But he's dragged back into the muck — isn't that always the way? — in a battle for his own morality as he's forced to fight his way out, fists and guns blazing.

Neeson plays the wonderfully named Finbar Murphy, a stoic assassin in 1970s Ireland, a tumultuous time of Troubles and car bombings. His killin' routine involves taking a victim to the Irish countryside, making them dig their own grave and giving them an opportunity to say a few last words before they meet their ending. (He's a gentleman, give him that.) One day, one of his marks leaves an impression as he talks about finding happiness in this wicked life. "Try and do some good before you find yourself here," the man says before Finbar ices him cold. "You've only so much time."

Finbar is unnerved, to the point where he hangs up his gun and turns to... gardening? Yep, he buys seeds and everything. But before his first tomato even comes off the vine, he sets his eyes on local bad dude Curtis June (Desmond Eastwood), who's abusing a young girl in Glencolmcille, the tiny village where he's made his home. And everyone knows that's not something you do in the presence of Liam Neeson, er, Finbar Murphy.

Finbar takes care of the issue the only way he knows how — old habits die hard, after all — but he invites hell to his doorstep in the process. That hell comes in the form of Doireann McCann ("The Banshees of Inisherin" Oscar nominee Kerry Condon), Curtis' sister, a fiery political warrior who's hiding out in the countryside after a Dublin car bombing gone awry. She takes none too kindly to her brother's disappearance and goes about seeking revenge. Turns out the garden will have to wait.

In the last 15 years or so there have been no shortage of action-driven Neeson vehicles, many of them interchangeable, but "In the Land of Saints in Sinners" is in the upper tier of them, thanks to its period setting, wistful Irish photography and Neeson's quiet but forceful lead performance. And Condon pours gasoline on the fire, cranking up her intensity every time she's on screen. She's a formidable foe and she goes toe-to-toe with Neeson.

Ciarán Hinds, Jack Gleeson and Colm Meaney help round out a nimble supporting cast and add texture to the world created by director Robert Lorenz, a longtime Clint Eastwood producer who previously directed Neeson in "The Marksman." Neeson, 71, is the brooding soul of the film, and he shows his skills are still quite handy, when they're put to good use.

agraham@detroitnews.com

'In the Land of Saints and Sinners'

GRADE: B

Rated R: for violence, and language throughout

Running time: 106 minutes

In theaters