A new trailer has been released for an Irish thriller with Liam Neeson in a starring role.
Fans of Liam Neeson were already eagerly anticipating his upcoming movie Retribution, which is set to reach local cinemas in October. Now they have another Neeson-starring film on the horizon in the form of In the Land of Saints and Sinners.
Netflix will distribute the movie, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, but the streaming service has yet to reveal a cinematic or streaming release date.
However, a new trailer has been released to give fans a glimpse of what to expect in Neeson’s Irish thriller.
Liam Neeson – one of Ireland’s biggest stars
Liam Neeson is undoubtedly one of Ireland’s biggest film stars and one of the country’s most recognisable faces. He has been synonymous with the Irish film world since his performance as Michael Collins in the eponymous 1996 biopic.
Elsewhere, award-winning films like Schindler’s List and Gangs of New York with such auteurs as Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese and starring roles in popular film series like Taken and Star Wars have kept the Ballymena man’s stock high.
In recent years, Neeson has made cameo appearances in critically acclaimed TV shows, such as Derry Girls and Atlanta, and the Irish actor will appear on the big screen yet again with his latest film, In the Land of Saints and Sinners.
In the Land of Saints and Sinners – a cast full of Irish stars
In the Land of Saints and Sinners sees Neeson reunite with Robert Lorenz after the pair worked together on 2021’s The Marksman.
The American director is best known for his production work on Academy Award-nominated films Mystic River, Letters from Iwo Jima, and American Sniper. Lorenz has also previously directed Clint Eastwood in sports drama Trouble with the Curve.
In addition to Neeson, the film also counts on a host of Irish acting talent. Kerry Condon returns to the big screen hot on the heels of her impactful performance in Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin.
Meanwhile, Ciarán Hinds, Sarah Greene, and Colm Meaney also make appearances, along with Jack Gleeson, who Game of Thrones fans will remember as the show’s Joffrey Baratheon.
The script was written by Mark Michael McNally and Terry Loane, the latter of whom co-wrote and directed Mickybo and Me. Principal photography took place in Donegal and Dublin in 2022.
What to expect – early reviews of the film have been mixed
In the Land of Saints and Sinners takes place in a remote Donegal village, and the story follows a retired assassin (Neeson) who enters into “a lethal game of cat and mouse” with three IRA bombers.
While many are excited to see Neeson’s new film, some early reviews have been quite critical of the production.
David Rooney, chief film critic at The Hollywood Reporter, wrote that the film’s “paddywhackery [is] as thick as the ‘Oirish’ brogues and flavourful caricatures”.
Adding that “not since the merry blarney of Wild Mountain Thyme has a movie leaned so hard into Emerald Isle stereotypes”, Rooney concludes that though “Neeson does his best to bring integrity to the role”, “the script is awash in clichés and the movie lacking in excitement”.
