Liam Neeson, in the second act of his career, has cultivated the most unlikely of personas. He has become an action hero with a specialty of using his fists to ensure justice is served. That comes majorly into play with his latest, but not for the reasons one would expect. Honest Thief parlays Neeson’s action movie stalwart (cultivated since 2008’s Taken) and weaves it into the web of a romantic thriller where what you see is not necessarily what you get.
Simply seeing Neeson as the titular character, the gentlemen bandit if you will, the viewer brings their own experience with his films to the table. Writer-director Mark Williams (who co-wrote the script with Steve Allrich) smartly plays with audience expectations and takes his narrative to utterly unexpected places.
The Love, Actually star portrays Tom, a man who as we are introduced to him, is looking for a place to store some of his belongings… and he’s got a lot of stuff. Lucky for him, he wanders into a storage facility that is managed by Annie (Kate Walsh). She not only gives him what he needs professionally but steals his heart in the process. The story immediately fast forwards one year and these two crazy kids are madly in love. In fact, Tom wants Annie to move in with him to a house he just made an offer on.
Through news reports (and flashbacks), it is learned that there is a person the media has dubbed the “In and Out Bandit.” As the moniker suggests, this guy manages to, well… get in and out quickly. The bandit targets small-town banks in such a manner that it is not surprising he has yet to be caught. So far, he’s swiped $9 million. He also shows uncanny patience as he knows that cash is easily traced and has hardly spent a cent. With love on his mind and dominating his heart, Tom decides to turn himself in, return all of the money, and hope for a deal where he does minimal prison time and is incarcerated close to Annie. Now, she doesn’t know about his (recent) past and just knows about his time as a decorated member of the Marines.
When he phones the FBI to discuss how to go forward, he first speaks to Agent Sam Baker (Robert Patrick). Agent Baker has heard many people cop to being the bandit and none of them have proven to be the real deal. Instead of checking on Tom himself, he sends two of his lesser experienced lawmen, Agent Nivens (Jai Courtney) and Agent Hall (Hamilton’s Anthony Ramos) to investigate. Instead of working out a deal, the two bad eggs double-cross him, and the blood starts to spill.
Now, Tom is wanted for more than just bank robberies as he’s been framed for murder. Watching all of this with a raised eyebrow is Agent Meyers (Jeffrey Donovan of Burn Notice fame). Something stinks, and he knows it.
Honest Thief comes from Williams, who co-created and produces the hit Netflix show Ozark. As such, you know heading in that this guy knows how to spill a yarn that specializes in raising countless questions whose answers only result in more inquiries. Now, the Neeson starring entertaining thrill-ride nowhere near carries the same weight or mettle as Ozark, but it doesn’t try to… it’s also in some ways, apples, and oranges. They’re both fruit, but that’s about where the comparison should end. Honest Thief is light-hearted, even as some serious things go down.
The filmmaker has a touch that is exactly what this story needs. Wish the same could be said for the performance of Courtney. Not sure what movie he felt he was in, but he simultaneously chews up the scenery and channels every bad crooked cop character we’ve seen on the big screen in the last 50 years. Ramos is a talent—can not wait to see him in In the Heights—but his gifts are somewhat wasted opposite Courtney. We just don’t buy the fact that he would throw away everything he’s worked for to “support” his partner in their nefarious activities. Donovan, on the other hand, delivers a stoic performance that feels ten-times more authentic (love the dog!) than his fellow FBI agents—save Patrick and his too-short appearance.
The performances of the two leads are top-notch, particularly the chemistry that sparks from Neeson and Walsh. That is key because this talented thief is ready to throw it all away for love. We the viewer have to see something from this couple to emotively pull for Tom to succeed in this effort because these two are great together. They are terrific as an onscreen couple and it is utterly believable that someone would trade freedom for jail time if it meant someone special was waiting for them on the other side. We also have to see past his law-breaking and that is achieved through a smartly laid out reasons for going from decorated soldier to multi-million-dollar stealing thief.
Walsh lights up the screen from the moment we meet her. Their attraction is immediate and palpable. The Grey’s Anatomy breakout does so much with so little. Specifically, between their flirtatious and earnestly funny meeting scene at the storage facility to the narrative fast forward of a year is barely 10 minutes. What these two create onscreen in that small amount of time has to (and does) tether their relationship to the hearts of the collective audience. It takes an actress and actor of a certain mettle to pull that off. Walsh and Neeson do and it carries us through the entire remainder of the film.
Now, back to Neeson and his cinematic persona that each one of us brings with us when we witness his work in certain milieus. Knowing what he is capable of as an action star had me putting the cart ahead of the horse in that when we enter certain situations, you are keenly aware of what Neeson the actor is capable of—his characters have avenged wrongs and made them right. He can, believably, take out men who are half his age. So, when these FBI agents swindle him and leave Tom with the murder weapon—we know that it is not a question of if, it is a question of when these cats are getting their comeuppance and that’s the fun of his films in this genre.
Where Honest Thief sits among his action flicks of late, is about the halfway mark. It’s not heavy-hitting, but it is entertaining. There is no roll your eyes moments like the star had with The Commuter, but it also isn’t a guilty-pleasure fun like he achieved with Cold Pursuit. Williams’ film is a straight-forward, it is what it is, an actioner with romantic aspects where each element drives the other.
Grade: B