| A Walk Among the Tombstones | |
| Director: | Scott Frank |
| Screenplay: | Scott Frank |
| Music: | Carlos Rafael Rivera |
| Cinematography: | Mihai Mălaimare Jr. |
| Editing: | Jill Savitt |
| Distributor: | Universal Pictures |
| Runtime: | 114 minutes[1] |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $23–28 million[2] [3] |
| Gross: | $62.1 million[4] |
A Walk Among the Tombstones is a 2014 American neo-noir action thriller film[5] [6] [7] [8] directed and written by Scott Frank, and based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Lawrence Block. It stars Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, David Harbour, and Boyd Holbrook. The film was released on September 19, 2014. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $62 million worldwide.
In 1991, alcoholic NYPD Detective Matt Scudder survives a shootout with three criminals who rob his local bar. Eight years later, Scudder is retired and sober, working as an unlicensed private investigator. Peter Kristo, a fellow Alcoholics Anonymous member, brings Scudder to his brother Kenny, a wealthy drug trafficker. Kenny explains that his wife Carrie was abducted, and though he delivered the ransom, the kidnappers dismembered her, leaving him a tape recording of her brutal rape and murder. Agreeing to find the killers, Scudder visits the New York Public Library to research similar murders and meets TJ, a homeless teen with a knack for detective work.
Scudder investigates the death of another woman, Leila Andresen, whose dismembered body was found in Green-Wood Cemetery. He discovers that her fiancé is tied to the drug trade, and confronts Jonas Loogan, the cemetery groundskeeper. Admitting that he helped the two men who killed Leila, Jonas kills himself. Scudder learns that another victim, Marie Gotteskind, was an undercover DEA agent murdered by the same killers, and realizes they are using her files to target drug dealers, kidnapping and killing their loved ones.
After being accosted by DEA agents, Scudder confronts Peter, who had informed on Kenny to Marie, unknowingly providing the information that allowed the killers to kidnap Carrie. TJ is beaten by neighborhood dealers for stealing a handgun, and Scudder visits him in the hospital. He reveals that a young girl was killed in the shootout in 1991, prompting him to leave the police force and his drinking behind.
Kenny asks Scudder to help fellow trafficker Yuri Landau, whose daughter Lucia has been taken by the killers, Ray and Albert. When the kidnappers call, Scudder convinces them to return Lucia alive in exchange for one million dollars. Meeting at the cemetery, Scudder delivers the money and Lucia is reunited with her father, but Albert discovers much of the cash is counterfeit. In the ensuing shootout, Peter is killed while Albert and a wounded Ray escape in their van, unaware TJ is hiding in the back.
TJ calls Scudder, leading him and Kenny to the killers' house, while Albert kills Ray. Leaving Albert's fate in Kenny's hands, Scudder sends TJ to his apartment in a taxi, but returns to find Kenny dead. Albert overpowers Scudder with a garotte and attacks him with a cleaver, but Scudder subdues him with Ray's taser before shooting him in the head. Watching from afar as police arrive at the scene, Scudder returns home.
A film adaptation of Block’s novel had been in development for several years with a script from Scott Frank. The film is largely faithful to the core story of the novel, while cutting several subplots and supporting characters. In 2002, Harrison Ford was attached to star and D.J. Caruso to direct.[9] In May 2012, Liam Neeson had reportedly signed on to play Matthew Scudder in the film, with Frank himself directing, and production slated to begin February 2013.[10]
Filming began on March 3, 2013 in New York City.[11] Producers invited author Block to the set to watch filming. On the casting of Neeson, Block said, "Readers often ask who'd be my ideal Matt Scudder, and I usually change the subject. But now it's safe to tell you that, ever since I saw him in Michael Collins, Neeson has been up at the top of my personal Scudder wish list. I couldn't be happier about either the star or the writer/director, both of them genuine artists and brilliant professionals. My book's in good hands."[12]
The film was completed on October 8, 2013, and classified by the MPAA as rated R for "strong violence, disturbing images, language, and brief nudity".[13] On October 18, 2013, Block tweeted that he had seen the film and revealed producers were aiming for a September 2014 release.[14] On January 30, 2014, it was announced the film would be released on September 19, 2014.[15]
A Walk Among the Tombstones grossed $26 million in the United States and Canada, and $36.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total gross of $62.1 million, against its $28 million budget.[4]
The film earned $428,000 from Thursday night from 1,918 theaters, and $4.7 million from 2,712 theaters on its opening day.[16] [17] It debuted at number two at the box office on its opening weekend earning $13.1 million behind The Maze Runner ($32.5 million).[18]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 68% based on 165 reviews, with an average rating of 6.20/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A Walk Among the Tombstones doesn't entirely transcend its genre clichés, but it does offer Liam Neeson one of his more compelling roles in recent memory, and that's often enough." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.[19]
Richard Roeper gave the film a B+ rating, calling the film "a stylish and smart thriller".[20] Manohla Dargis in The New York Times called it "one of those rare cinematic offerings: intelligent pulp" but also noted that the film "can be tough to watch, particularly its fleeting images of tortured women".[21] In Variety, Andrew Barker found it a well-made thriller "with a good deal of panache and style".[22]