Directed by Robert Lorenz (Trouble with the Curve (2012)) and producer of Mystic River (2003) and American Sniper (2014)) and starring Liam Neeson (Schindler's List (1993); Taken (2008); The Grey (2011)), Ciarán Hinds (Belfast (2021); Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011); The Woman in Black (2012)), Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin (2022); Bad Samaritan (2018); Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)) and Colm Meaney (Layer Cake (2004); The Day Millionaire (2022); The Damned United (2009); Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (TV series, 1993-1999).

Crime drama; 106 mins; 16+

Passing a quiet existence in a small Irish village, World War II veteran and widower Finbar Murphy (Liam Neeson) leads a double life as a hitman working for an underworld boss, Robert McQue (Colm Meaney), while giving the illusion that he deals in books for a living. He is friends with the local Garda (police officer) Vincent O'Shea (Ciarán Hinds) with whom he goes shooting and drinking (not at the same time).

Set in 1974 during The Troubles; suddenly his life is interrupted when Doireann McCann (Kerry Condon) and her henchmen from an IRA faction arrive in the village, fleeing after detonating a bomb in Belfast in which there were civilian casualties, including children.

Finbar Murphy decides that he cannot stand idly by and decides to take matters into his own hands when one of Doireann McCann's brothers terrifies a friend's child. Once he disappears, Doireann McCann starts digging which leads to a series of events from which there is no returning.

Fabolous cinematography - it was filmed primarily in Donegal (for the village, forests and open roads, as well as for a couple of scenes set in West Cork) and also in Dublin (which served as Belfast) - and very thoughtful character development. Certainly one of Liam Neeson's best films in quite a while; while it is still of the revenge thriller mode, In the Land of Saints and Sinners is much more artistic than many of his run-of-the-mill action thrillers for which he is well known. Neeson's character even quotes passages from Dostoevsky and the script is interlaced at times with philosophical dialogue.

And Kerry Condon is certainly playing a completely different character than audiences here would remember her from the likes of the Irish-Luxembourg co-production The Runway and the award-winning The Banshees of Inisherin. She rises to the challenge and her performance as a villainous character both complements and rivals that of Liam Neeson.

Filmed by an American director with an all-Irish cast and employing an all-Irish crew.

In the Land of Saints and Sinners was screened at Ciné Utopia in a "BIFFL Presents…" collaboration with the British & Irish Film Festival Luxembourg.