Of all the different types of novels one would think mysteries would be the easiest to bring to the big screen. This is especially true if the novel is from a series with a dominate protagonist (see Lee Child’s Jack Reacher). Yet as often is the case there’s rarely a follow through with more adaptations. Morgan Freeman as James Patterson’s Alex Cross is one of the exceptions, having starred in Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider (he would be replaced by Tyler Perry in a reboot attempt of the character). More times than not it’s usually a one and done (see Denzel Washington as Easy Rawlings in Devil in a Blue Dress). And the jury’s still out on if we’ll see Matthew McConaughey again as “The Lincoln Lawyer” Mickey Haller or if The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest (Hollywood versions) will happen.
All that said, I’m apprehensive about an adaptation of Lawrence Block’s Matt Scudder character. Having read some of the novels, Scudder is the type of private investigator I’ve jokingly referred to as having a “Six-Million Dollar Liver.” He seems to have either a stiff drink or strong black coffee in his hand at all times.
A Walk Among the Tombstones isn’t the first Matt Scudder mystery, but it is probably the most well known. With Liam Neeson in the lead role, the movie looks to, on the surface level at least, play to his tough guy status post-Taken. But this trailer gives an idea that there may be something more to the story than just Neeson being a menacing presence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6Ttj9tXzCA
A Walk Among the Tombstones is written and directed by Scott Frank. Frank has quite the reputation for his screenplay adaptations, having adapted the works of Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty, Out of Sight) and Philip K. Dick (Minority Report) as well as his own original works, Dead Again (a feature film directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Branagh and Emma Thompson). In 2007, he wrote and directed The Lookout, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Isla Fisher and Matthew Goode.
Based on the Lawrence Block novel, Neeson stars along with Boyd Holbrook, Whitney Able (Monsters), and David Harbour (End of Watch). The film is set to be released on September 19th, 2014.
