Ticket 2 Ride

I thought that Liam Neeson was going to quit making the tough-guy action films? It appears he shows no sign of stopping, but his characters are damaged and about to retire, or be retired.

At first, I didn’t know what to make of this film, a story of fighting in Northern Ireland in the early 1970s. The film opens with the bombing of store to kill two men, but several children stumble into the explosion zone at the last minute. Honestly, I almost switched off the film at that point.

I have never understood the long history of violence, religious difference and repression in that conflict. I’m not judging, but I have no interest in it. I am glad there is peace and tolerance today. Unfortunately, there are other places where persecution and violence are a daily occurrence.

So, the film begins with the four bombers on the run, and they come to the village where Finbar Murphy has set up shop. He’s a former soldier who fought the Nazis, now he’s a contract killer, who wants to close that part of his life. If only that was easy.

Neeson’s choice of weaponry is a shotgun, which he uses for target practice with the village constable, and ridding the world of undesirable characters. It’s only at the end of the film that he uses a handgun. While he’s a hired killer, he seems to be a friend of many, who helps others and deals in used books. Once more Neeson plays a character who does some bad things, but has some goodness in his heart. Finbar’s story is that WWII introduced him to violence, and the death of his wife shut him down as a human being.

Finbar is bad, but he’s clearly not as evil as the IRA bombers who see civilians as just collateral damage, in their just fight.

The film’s director, Robert Lorenz, is from the Clint Eastwood film organization, having been a second unit director, producer and director on various Eastwood films. The film is gorgeous to look at, well-paced and the graphic nature of the violence kept to a minimum. Tom Sterns, another Eastwood collaborator, is the cinematographer who provides the beautiful, but mysterious look of the film. Lorenz is not Irish, yet he has a feel for the culture and the sense of community in these small hamlets. Lorenz and Neeson collaborated on 2020’s The Marksman.

The only way the viewer knows that the time period is 1974, is a title card at the beginning, and the references to the IRA. Thankfully, this story is not buried in the political issues of the struggle. The theme of the film is about people who are so deep in their grooves that they can’t see daylight or the world around them, except for Finbar. Unfortunately, he kills one of the IRA bombers who has been abusing the young daughter of a local barmaid. That puts the bomber’s accomplices on Finbar’s scent and drives the film forward.

The cast is exceedingly good. Colm Meaney portrays Robert McQue, the man who arranges the jobs for Finbar. Meaney was born in Dublin and has appeared in many films including Under Siege, The Last of the Mohicans, Con Air and Layer Cake. Ciarán Hinds (Harry Potter, Munich, The Lord of the Rings), is the local constable, who suspects a lot more than he’s of. Hinds was born in Belfast and is one of Ireland’s greatest stage actors, in addition to his film roles that have him portraying many different nationalities.

Kerry Condon plays the leader of the IRA bombers, Doireann, who is determined, amoral and a killer. It’s clear, don’t mess with Doireann. Condon has an incredible resume, including the Avenger films, Spider-Man, Ray Donovan and Bad Samaritan.

I am not familiar with the other actors in the cast, but they were quite good and convincing in their performances. The music, locale and acting are three big pluses for this film. At home in Ireland, the reviews were mixed, as they were elsewhere. Rottentomatoes.com has an 84 percent rating among critics, and 74 percent among audience reviews.

Neeson gives his usual strong, quiet performance. He nails his character. I like him much better in this role than his turn in Marlowe. If Neeson continues making these low-key action films, I’m okay with that and I’ll continue to check them out.

I like the film and the performances, the countryside and coastline are beautiful, and Lorenz is a good filmmaker.

3.5/5