We all know and love Liam Neeson from Taken, Schindler’s List, Star Wars…and even Love Actually. Neeson has come back again to blow us away in the new film, Commuter.
Neeson has played diverse roles, from the never-take-no-for-an-answer Bryan Mills in Taken, to sweet Daniel from Love Actually. I must say, I relished the chance to see him once more as his tough guy persona in this new film, fights for justice against the clock!
The film opens by walking the audience through a snapshot of Michael MacCauley’s life. We see that he has a loving wife, a son about to head off to college, and a career as a prestigious life insurance salesman. To his shock, Michael is laid off that morning and joins his police friend and ex-partner, Alex Murphy, at a bar to drown his sorrows.
While at the bar, the two men overhear a news story about man who had jumped to his death from an office building a few nights prior–just the news to bring poor Michael down even more after today: a boy off to college, no job, and no money. He quickly realizes he needs to catch his train, and shoots out the door.
Here is where the story unfolds: once happily settled on the train, he notices a woman observing him. After chatting for a moment, he rebuffs her, thinking she was flirting with him. She clears the air, commenting that she’s a psychiatrist with a theoretical moral dilemma for him: for $25,000 dollars, and promise of more, would he help find someone on that train? They both have a chuckle about the hypothetical story, until she lets slip that she knows who he is, what he needs, and this opportunity is his. Michael is in shock as this woman gets up and walks off the train, not before telling him in which compartment the money is hidden. Then: “find Prynne.”
The rest of the movie follows Michael after he’s taken the money, and how his struggle to do the right thing when the stakes just keep getting higher.
This is a fantastic thriller, with surprises at every corner! I feel it’s hard to come up with a unique idea in this day and age, but this movie proved it can be done. If you like thrillers with a brilliant storyline, I would heartily suggest you go see this in theaters!