A Walk Among the Tombstones 2014 (Movie Review)

Dir: Scott Frank
Cast: Liam Nesson
Dur: 114 mins
Rating: 1.5/5
PG: Foul Language used often, violence and blood shown explicitly.

It’s not very often that you come across the genre of crime fiction in films; this genre is usually exploited in serials. I must confess that I am a fan of this genre and therefore was eager to watch this film.

Sleuthing is a slow process even though the serials indicate otherwise. We know from experience how long our police force takes to solve a case, but of course this cannot be compared to fictional cases. This film stays close to the truth in as much as it accompanies the protagonist, Matthew Scudder (Liam Nesson), as he goes about attempting to solve the case. Matthew is a rare character. He is a retired or off-loaded police officer, who is spending his days in drunken ecstasy in an attempt to blot out his past. His drunken routine is invaded by a desperate call from a drug peddler, whose wife is kidnapped. Reluctantly he takes up the case and is shaken from his drunken stupor when he realizes he has bitten off more than he can chew. He searches and struggles to discover and arrange the clues. And his struggle is hardened by the reports of more crimes being committed by what seems to be the same criminal. We accompany him on his sleuthing and are often shown sceneries that give little away.


Matthew is battling with his past and is struggling in the present. In some way, he is searching for himself, that part of him lost in the past. He is not like the detectives we see in the serials. He is an aging man, nothing like Sherlock Holmes. Life itself is a struggle, sleuthing seems like extra baggage. We walk with him as he drags us around, desperate to find the truth and set things right, even for himself. At what seems like eons later, we come face to face with the maniacal duo behind the crimes. The case is at last solved and the gruesome truth is brought to light. We cannot help but sympathize with Matthew. He is a good man in bad circumstances. His sluggishness sets the tempo for the film, thus making it a long, dull watch. The story has a twist but perhaps too little of it. I’d suggest to all crime fiction enthusiasts to stick to the serials for they give a greater kick and offer better satisfaction.

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