In the Land of Saints and Sinners

In the Land of Saints and Sinners is a 2023 Irish action thriller film directed by Robert Lorenz and written by Mark Michael McNally and Terry Loane. The film stars Liam Neeson in the lead role, alongside other Irish actors including Kerry Condon, Jack Gleeson, Colm Meaney and Ciarán Hinds. This is Neeson's second collaboration with Lorenz after the 2021 film The Marksman.

The film premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on 6 September 2023. It was released for streaming on Netflix on 26 April 2024.

Plot
During the Troubles, four members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army come to the Irish coastal town of Glencolmcille, County Donegal to lie low after a car-bombing in Belfast kills six people and witnesses identify two of the bombers to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). They stay with Sinéad, the local pub keeper, who is Curtis' sister-in-law.

Finbar Murphy lives a quiet life in Glencolmcille. When he returned from the Second World War, he found his wife had died and he fell into an alcohol-fueled depression. A local crime boss, Robert McQue, rescued him from the bottle and put him to work using his combat experience as a contract killer. Posing as a book-seller, he is friendly with the local Garda officer, Vinnie, and his neighbour, Rita. He travels to Bantry, Co. Cork, and, kidnaps a target in a routine job. The target is a former contract killer, who urges him to make something of the rest of his life. He ends his relationship with Robert when he collects on the killing, which forces Robert to rely on Kevin, a troubled youth, for future jobs.

The IRA members quickly eat all of the food in the pub and Curtis savagely beats Sinéad's daughter, Moya and bids her to find more. When Finbar discovers her bruises, Moya is too afraid to reveal the culprit to him or her mother. Finbar goes for advice to Robert, who warns that the Garda are unlikely to make an arrest unless she comes forward and if he were to call on her behalf, it may lead to additional scrutiny of their criminal affairs. Finbar lures Curtis into his car and driving him to the forested grove where he secretly buries his victims. Curtis pulls a knife and Finbar only survives because Kevin, having been sent by Robert to keep an eye on Finbar, snipes Curtis in the head. They bond over their dreams for the future but Finbar finds Kevin's cavalier attitude toward killings distasteful.

When Curtis fails to return to the pub, his sister Doireann gets a tip that the local mob boss may have information. She confronts Robert who feigns ignorance until she discovers evidence that he was concealing a friend's role in Curtis' death. She kills Robert after he discloses Finbar's name and forces her fellows to help locate him. Finbar and Kevin console Robert's mother as Doireann ransacks Finbar's house and attacks Rita. Finbar attempts to calm the situation by observing that they have each lost someone close to them and should call it even. Doireann rejects the offer, believing that her brother's death was a contract killing and demands to know who hired him. Finbar offers to deliver the "client" in exchange for their departure. Doireann insists that they rendezvous at Sinéad's bar.

Finbar tries to convince Kevin to follow his dream of moving to California to write songs by giving his savings. At the bar, Doireann instructs her men to cover her, with Conan inside as backup and Séamus in the getaway vehicle, with instructions to use a spare bomb to blow up the tavern if Finbar tries to escape. Vinnie suspects the two men when he notices that their car has scratches that match property damage from one of his investigations. During a tense conversation between Finbar and Doireann, Kevin returns to butt in and try to defuse it. Doireann shoots him in the gut, starting a shootout. As Kevin bleeds, he shoots Doireann in the shoulder and saves Finbar again from one of the attackers before Doireann shoots him in the head as she makes her escape. Vinnie manages to take the bomb out of the bar but then Séamus exits the car to reclaim it, and brings it to the bar. Finbar shoots him before he can toss it back in and it explodes, killing Séamus. Doireann makes it back up to the car but is unable to start the car without the keys, which Séamus had. Mortally wounded, Doireann limps to a church while Finbar follows her. After a brief conversation, she dies from her wounds. Finbar takes her and buries her next to her brother. Finbar bids farewell to Rita and leaves Glencolmcille behind.

Production
In October 2021, it was announced that Liam Neeson would star in an Ireland set thriller film, re-teaming with director Robert Lorenz. Ciarán Hinds, who is a longtime friend of Neeson, was also announced as starring in the film. In April 2022, Kerry Condon was announced as part of the cast. The screenplay was written by Mark Michael McNally and Terry Loane, with revisions by Matthew Feitshans. Principal photography was lined up for March 2022 in Ireland. In 2022, the film was primarily shot in County Donegal, with additional filming in Dublin.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack for the film was created by Diego, Nora, and Lionel Baldenweg. The official track listing is as follows:

Release
The film premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on 6 September 2023. In April 2022, Netflix revealed to have pre-bought the film's distribution rights in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The film was released in limited theaters in the US on 29 March 2024, by Samuel Goldwyn Films. The film was released on Netflix in Ireland and the UK on 26 April 2024.

Box office
The film made $1.1 million from 896 theaters in its opening weekend.

Critical response
According to the Belfast Telegraph, the film received mixed reviews from critics. Empire gave the film three out of five stars, concluding in its review that "while it isn’t especially insightful on Irish history, it makes the most of its setting, with the usual scenery — windswept clifftops, dry stone walls, rolling fields — bolstered by some strong performances. It’s a treat to see actors like Colm Meaney, Ciarán Hinds and Kerry Condon take time off their usual gigs as American-accented characters to return to home turf. In an unexpected highlight, Jack Gleeson — nearly unrecognisable from his time on the Iron Throne as Joffrey Baratheon — puts in a delightfully slimy turn as Finbarr’s gangster mentee. And at the centre of it all is Neeson, still as rugged and dependable as rock, still able to elevate this sort of material while making it look effortless." The Irish Times awarded the film three out of five stars, referring to it as "a parade of wasted ideas and characters." Variety opined that "Saints and Sinners doesn’t pretend that it won’t end in bloodshed. The feature finds its essential tension in its approach to Neeson’s on-screen image — here, playing a gentle elder embedded in a quiet town, but also unforgettably an actor that has buttered his bread shooting up criminal henchmen for nearly two decades now."

The Hollywood Reporter claimed that the film was "overwritten, overripe and likely destined to be streaming fodder." The Financial Times remarked positively that "mostly the film passes though the gears with smooth efficiency. Neeson is as sturdy as ever in a role Clint Eastwood might have played 20 years ago and a few thousand miles away... And Condon excels, giving a stock character a shudder of intensity and three dimensions. Neeson wants to make more interesting movies. Condon already seems to have stepped in from one."