A Walk Among the Tombstones

Mystery novelist Lawrence Block's world-weary detective Matthew Scudder is capably embodied here by Liam Neeson in an obvious bid to start a new film franchise. The 1991-set prologue establishes Scudder as a former NYC cop, a recovering alcoholic who gave up booze after a shootout that went tragically awry. By 1999, Scudder has become an unlicensed investigator, noting: “I do favors for people….in return, they give me gifts.” Recruited by recovering junkie Peter Kristo (Boyd Holbrook), Scudder reluctantly takes a case involving Peter's drug-dealing brother, Kenny (Dan Stevens), whose wife was kidnapped and killed even after he paid a $400,000 ransom. But then another female victim is discovered—dismembered in Brooklyn's historic Greenwood Cemetery—and the daughter of a Russian drug dealer (Sebastian Roche) is taken hostage. Clues lead to a pair of sadistic serial killers (David Harbour, Adam David Thompson) who purposely target someone related to a criminal so that police won't be summoned. After questioning the graveyard's creepy groundskeeper (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson), Scudder pursues the culprits with the help of a young apprentice (Brian “Astro” Bradley), a homeless teen who wants to be a private eye. Adapted and directed by Scott Frank, this grimly intense thriller alternates between long, talky interludes and sequences of explicit, horrific violence. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette (12 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a “Matt Scudder: Private Eye” character segment (6 min.), and bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for an uneven film.] (S. Granger)