Liam Neeson has spent the last decade and a half killing people in various international locales. It’s a formula. We know it. You know it. But In the Land of Saints and Sinners—or En Tierra de Santos y Pecadores for the Spanish-speaking audience—hits differently. It’s not just another Taken clone set in the rain.
Honestly, it’s a Western.
Set in the 1970s against the backdrop of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, the film follows Finbar Murphy, a man who wants to retire from a life of professional killing. He’s tired. You can see it in Neeson’s face, which, let’s be real, has become a map of weary authority over the years. He lives in a remote coastal village, plants trees, and tries to find a soul he probably lost years ago. Then the IRA shows up.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Plot
People see the poster and think: "Oh, Liam is going to punch a terrorist." That’s only about 20% of the vibe. The movie is actually a slow-burn character study that happens to have landmines. When a group of IRA bombers, led by the volatile Doireann (played with terrifying intensity by Kerry Condon), flees to Finbar's quiet village after a Dublin bombing goes sideways, the collision is inevitable.
But it’s not a superhero fight.
It’s a messy, localized conflict. These aren't high-tech mercenaries; they are desperate, radicalized people hiding in a pub. The stakes feel smaller but much more intimate. You’ve got Ciarán Hinds playing a local Garda who is Finbar’s best friend, and he has no idea his buddy is a legendary hitman. That tension—the lie between friends—is the actual heart of the story.
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The Robert Lorenz Connection
Director Robert Lorenz, who worked closely with Clint Eastwood for years, brings that "Old Man Western" energy here. If you’ve seen The Marksman, you know Lorenz likes a certain pace. He isn't interested in Michael Bay explosions. He wants to show you the wind hitting the cliffs of County Donegal.
He captures the Irish landscape without making it look like a tourism brochure. It’s grey. It’s damp. It’s beautiful in a way that feels lonely. This visual language tells you more about Finbar’s internal state than any monologue could. The cinematography by Tom Stern uses the vastness of the Atlantic to make the characters look tiny, emphasizing how insignificant their violence is in the grand scheme of the earth.
Why Kerry Condon Is the Real Star
We need to talk about Doireann McCann.
Kerry Condon, coming off her Oscar-nominated turn in The Banshees of Inisherin, is the engine of this movie. While Neeson is the steady anchor, Condon is the lightning. She doesn't play a "movie villain." She plays a true believer. There’s a scene in a pub where she’s just staring, and you realize she’s more dangerous than any guy with a gun because she has nothing left to lose.
The film avoids the "damsel" or "sidekick" tropes entirely. She is the antagonist, full stop. Her presence forces Finbar out of his self-imposed peace, and the way she mirrors his own violent past is some of the tightest writing in the script by Mark Michael McNally and Terry Loane.
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Acknowledging the Historical Weight
It's risky territory. Setting a thriller during The Troubles requires a certain level of tact. The film doesn't try to solve the political crisis of Northern Ireland. It doesn't take a grand stance on the geopolitics of 1974. Instead, it looks at the human cost of "the cause."
The opening bombing in Dublin is jarring. It’s meant to be. It strips away any romanticism one might have about the era. By moving the action to the Republic of Ireland (Donegal), the film explores the "spillover" effect—how violence doesn't respect borders or neutral ground. Some critics argued it simplified the politics, but honestly, as a genre piece, it uses the setting to heighten the morality play rather than serve as a history lesson.
The "New" Liam Neeson Archetype
Is this the "Neeson-aisance"? Maybe.
For a while, his movies felt like they were generated by an algorithm. Blacklight, Memory, Retribution—they all started to blur. In the Land of Saints and Sinners feels like a return to form because it allows him to act. He gets to be quiet. He gets to show regret.
There’s a specific scene where he’s teaching a younger hitman (Jack Gleeson, who you’ll remember as the insufferable Joffrey from Game of Thrones) about the reality of their "job." It’s dark. Gleeson is fantastic here, playing a kid who thinks he’s in a cool movie, while Neeson’s character knows he’s in a tragedy. It’s a passing of the torch that never actually happens because the torch is covered in blood.
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Technical Details You Might Have Missed
- The Score: Diego Baldenweg with Nora Baldenweg and Lionel Baldenweg. It’s folk-heavy but dissonant. It uses traditional Irish instruments in ways that feel uneasy, mimicking the "saints and sinners" duality.
- The Setting: Glencolumbkille and Kilcar in County Donegal. The geography is a character. The cliffs aren't just scenery; they are the walls of a prison Finbar built for himself.
- The Timing: Released in late 2023 and early 2024 depending on your region, it found a second life on streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime, where it consistently charted in the top ten.
The Moral Ambiguity of Finbar Murphy
We like to root for the "retired assassin." It’s a trope as old as Shane or Unforgiven. But the movie asks if Finbar actually deserves a peaceful retirement. He’s spent his life burying bodies in the woods. He marks the graves with trees.
It’s a poetic image, but it’s also morbid.
The film doesn't give him an easy out. It suggests that even if you stop killing, the world you helped create will eventually come knocking at your door. The title isn't just a catchy phrase; it’s a question. Who is the saint? Who is the sinner? By the end, the lines are so blurred that the distinction barely matters.
Actionable Insights for Viewers and Collectors
If you are planning to watch or re-watch this, don't go in expecting John Wick. Go in expecting a 70s-style thriller like The Day of the Jackal.
- Watch the Background: The production design is meticulous. Look at the posters, the car models, and the household items in the village scenes. It captures the beige-and-grey reality of 1970s Ireland perfectly.
- Compare the Performances: Watch Kerry Condon here and then watch her in Banshees. The range is incredible. She goes from the moral center of one world to the chaotic destroyer of another.
- Physical Media: If you're a collector, look for the Blu-ray releases that include the "Making Of" featurettes. Hearing Lorenz talk about the Eastwood influence explains a lot of the film's pacing choices.
- Explore the Soundtrack: The music is worth a standalone listen. It’s one of the few recent action-thriller scores that doesn't rely on "braam" sounds and synth swells.
In the Land of Saints and Sinners is a reminder that Liam Neeson is still a powerhouse when he has a script that cares about its characters as much as its body count. It's a somber, violent, and ultimately moving piece of Irish cinema that deserves a spot on your "must-watch" list if you missed it during its initial run.
To get the most out of the experience, watch it on a night when you can actually pay attention to the dialogue. The Irish accents are thick, the subtext is heavy, and the payoff is earned through silence rather than noise. If you enjoyed the moody atmosphere of Wind River or the stoic justice of Hell or High Water, this is exactly your speed.