Set against the rugged landscapes of rural Ireland, In the Land of Saints and Sinners (2023) is a slow-burning, atmospheric thriller starring Liam Neeson in one of his most grounded roles in recent memory. Directed by Robert Lorenz and written by Mark Michael McNally and Terry Loane, the film combines elements of noir, morality drama, and revenge in a post-Troubles Ireland.
Neeson plays Finbar Murphy, a retired assassin trying to live out his days in peace in a quiet coastal village. But tranquility is short-lived when a group of IRA-connected fugitives—led by a cold-blooded woman named Doirean (played chillingly by Kerry Condon)—arrives in town. When a young local girl is caught in their violent wake, Finbar’s dormant killer instincts reawaken. What unfolds is a tense cat-and-mouse game between an aging but deadly man and a ruthless younger generation of ideologues.
What makes In the Land of Saints and Sinners stand apart from Neeson’s usual action roles is its emotional weight and moral ambiguity. Finbar is not just a “man with a certain set of skills” — he is a haunted figure, shaped by decades of violence, and weary of the ghosts that linger in his conscience. Neeson plays him with brooding restraint, showing more in silence than in action. The film lets the drama breathe, with long pauses, quiet conversations in pubs, and heavy glances that say more than gunfire ever could.
Cinematographer Tom Stern captures the Irish coast with muted tones, misty hills, and a constant sense of looming dread. The atmosphere is thick with secrets and suppressed rage, while the supporting cast — including Colm Meaney and Jack Gleeson — add layers of local color and tension. Gleeson’s return to screen (after Game of Thrones) as a jittery, morally torn youth is a welcome surprise.
While the film builds to a bloody climax, it never glorifies violence. The killings are messy, painful, and leave emotional scars. The pacing may feel too slow for some, but that deliberateness is part of its strength — a reflection of a man who knows that every trigger pulled leaves a mark.
Given the film's ending, where Finbar survives but walks away further broken, a sequel could explore the deeper consequences of his past resurfacing.
In Saints and Sinners: Blood Ties, Finbar is drawn back into action when the son of a man he assassinated during The Troubles seeks revenge. Unlike Doirean’s blind ideology, this new antagonist operates with surgical precision and legal power — a rising politician with criminal connections, trying to erase any trace of the old IRA operations. Meanwhile, Finbar discovers he may have a biological daughter whose life is now endangered due to his past sins.
The sequel could deepen the moral stakes: can a man ever truly escape the person he once was? Can redemption exist without reckoning? Set in modern Dublin, with a web of political intrigue and familial guilt, Blood Ties could transform the saga into a haunting generational tragedy.
