Absolution - Storia criminale

This movie, in the career of Liam Neeson, is nearly a cliché, a pleonasm. For his age, he has done far far worse since a decade now. He is good in this story which can remind some movies from the seventies. This scheme of an aging hitman or gangster or cop, a character who lives his last moments on this earth, this scheme is not new, it has been told hundreds of times before, but this diminishes nothing to the efficiency of this movie. Liam Neeson is poignant here, no problem. Me, I like this movie, this kind of story. Liam Neeson have made and will make more films like this one in the future. He has no more choice.... This plot and main character reminds me Craig Fairbrass in THE VILLAIN (2020).

Most people going to see this film will be disappointed. It is a somber story how cognitive decline takes hold. And with condition like that there's no chance for a happy ending.

Acting was in my opinion good and made it realistic how it's when you can't trust your memory.

So if avarage viewer is expecting visual hollywood fluff with clear morals they will not find it from here. There's no heroes, morals or righteous characters; everything is on a gray scale rather then having good and bad.

And due to confusion setting in to the main character it's hard to see him as a good guy either. He's chosen his path and working for 'bad guys' all his life. Not much to redeem there.

BEWARE: all you Liam Neeson action fans, this is a subtle DRAMA and NOT a hardhitting gangster movie AT ALL. Best suited for an arthouse movie audience!

The good: Liam Neeson is still starring in solid movies at his age. He is still convincingly portraying these old gangster characters with a heart. And this story is all about ageing and nearing the end of ones life and trying to heal family bonds that were long lost. It isnt a riveting drama, but a quite slowburning and subtle one and for those who are interested in this genre it could be worth a watch, but dont expect fireworks!

The bad: I love to see Liam Neeson in his hardhitting old man gangster roles in which he fights and shoots bad guys. But this movie has very little of that and therefore I got a bit bored with it half way through.

NOT suited for the Liam Neeson action gangster fans. Best suited for an arthouse movie audience which likes to watch a subtle slowburning character drama...

Liam Neeson plays an unnamed thug working for minor Boston mob boss Charlie Conner (Ron Perlman). He's been assigned to back up the heir apparent Kyle Conner (Daniel Diemer) who is green, arrogant, and a druggie. He's suffering from memory issues which turns out to be CTE. He tries to reconnect with his kids. His daughter Daisy (Frankie Shaw) doesn't want anything to do with him and his son died without his knowledge.

This is Liam Neeson doing Liam Neeson except this character is on his last legs. That is a good spot for him as he ages and isn't quite the killing machine of his younger days. I wouldn't mind dropping the girlfriend and spend more time to generate drama with Daisy. The writing can do some sharpening but one must also remember that the man is suffering from mental degeneration. He can't be throwing out snappy one-liners. I like this for Liam Neeson although everybody else seems to be unimpressed.

I was expecting another Liam Neeson driven action flick but this is a more thoughtful movie. It is slow paced for sure but I feel unfolds nicely. You really get the sense the guy at the end regrets his choices in life. You also get the sense he was destined for that life. I think the development of Liams character over the course of the movie builds your feelings for him. This is a flawed/violent person who at the end grows more desperate to reconcile with the family he walked away from. The movie touches a lot on inter-generational abuse and neglect and the chaos and struggle that leads to generation after generation. Also, I felt the movie was exceptionally written. If you're willing to give it the time and enjoy Neesons more subtle performances you should enjoy this.