‘A Walk Among The Tombstones’: We Talked to Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, Scott Frank

As a big fan of Liam Neeson it was something special to be part of the L.A. press day for “A Walk Among The Tombstones” (in theaters Sep. 19). In the atmospheric thriller Neeson plays an ex-cop that is hired by a criminal (Dan Stevens) to find the people that killed his wife. Scott Frank (“The Lookout”) directs this gripping tale of redemption and justice.

Below are our questions and their very interesting answers.

DH: At the beginning the antagonists appear almost as supernatural beings. Then we see them in the most mundane situation possible. Tell us about portraying them in those very different lights.

Scott Frank: These two guys were out there in the world and nobody were taking them seriously, they couldn’t even describe them. It was really interesting and frightening. When you see them making breakfast it is very mundane. You don’t know if they are lovers or brothers, and I don’t go into any of that. That’s more interesting than exploring their bad childhoods and what happened to them. You don’t know what they are, and that’s what evil is. Sometimes there isn’t a reason for it.

DH: The best thing about the film, to me, is its execution. But if you want to do things differently and inject your personality you, as a director, may be accused of being pretentious. How do you see that?

Frank: I say all these things and it may appear that I had a very secure vision of the movie. But when we started shooting I said “I need to get more coverage! I know that they are going to make me cut it” and “We need to get more fancy shots!” I started to have those conversations in my head. Then I cut the movie, very early on the process, and it wasn’t working for me. I couldn’t understand why, so I showed it to my toughest friend, Steven Soderbergh, and the first thing he said was “You didn’t cut it the way you shot it.” It wasn’t because anybody told me to, it was just a momentary failure on my part. But then we cut it the way it was supposed to be cut.

DH: In most films, the regular guy is the victim. But your character here could be the villain in any other story.

Dan Stevens: That was one of the most interesting things. How does seeing bad things happening to bad people make us feel? What happens to Kenny is deeply unpleasant and don’t wish it upon anyone. The challenge was to evoke any kind of sympathy for someone that you would usually dismiss as “the bad guy.” All the characters in this film have made a series of bad choices that have led them to this dark place. That was really interesting to explore.

DH: I believe that “The Grey” is a cinematic masterpiece. Does it frustrate you that sometimes great films with like that one or “A Walk Among The Tombstones,” just by having action elements, don’t get any recognition during the award season?

Liam Neeson: I think the awards are great because they put a focus on the industry and that translates into people buying tickets to see movies. And that keeps us all at work. I am a big fan of award shows. But it takes a hell of a lot of money to campaign for any film. “The Grey” came out in January and I believe that the closing date is in December. It takes a lot of money to remind the audience. I think that they showed it in a couple of theaters to qualify. But, it is OK, it isn’t really frustrating. What was it Lauren Bacall said? “It’s a great medium, lousy business.” It’s alright. It’s always been that way. The reward is just doing the work, and I think The Grey is a lovely film. I’m very, very proud of it, whether it wins awards or not, so it doesn’t matter.

“A Walk Among The Tombstones” hits theaters Sept. 19.

“Based on Lawrence Block’s bestselling series of mystery novels, A Walk among the Tombstones stars Liam Neeson as Matt Scudder, an ex-NYPD cop who now works as an unlicensed private investigator operating just outside the law. When Scudder reluctantly agrees to help a heroin trafficker (Dan Stevens) hunt down the men who kidnapped and then brutally murdered his wife, the PI learns that this is not the first time these men have committed this sort of twisted crime…nor will it be the last. Blurring the lines between right and wrong, Scudder races to track the deviants through the backstreets of New York City before they kill again.”