ABSOLUTION movie poster | ©2024 Samuel Goldwyn Films

Rating: R
Stars: Liam Neeson, Yolanda Ross, Frankie Shaw, Daniel Diemer, Javier Molina, Jimmy Gonzales, Josh Drennen, Deanna Nayr Tarraza, Terrence Pulliam, Ron Perlman
Writer: Tony Gayton
Director: Hans Petter Moland
Distributor: Samuel Goldwyn Films
Release Date: November 1, 2024

Because ABSOLUTION stars Liam Neeson as a low-level gangster, we know that violence will eventually occur in the film. However, ABSOLUTION is only secondarily a crime-action film. Mostly, it’s a character study of a man facing mental decline, attempting to come to terms with his past and figure out what to do with the rest of his future.

Director Hans Petter Moland and writer Tony Gayton are to be congratulated. ABSOLUTION is one of those rare films that has an unnamed protagonist – Neeson’s character is referred to in the closing credits simply as “Thug” – without being pretentious. This is because it’s not intended as a grand metaphor. Although nobody addresses him by name, Thug has a very specific life.

Son of an abusive father (Josh Drennen), who is gone but continues to appear in dreams, Thug abandoned his own family long ago. He was a boxer, and hasn’t lost his deadly punch, but he’s spent the last thirty years as muscle and bag man for Boston crime boss Charlie Conner (Ron Perlman).

Right now, Thug has been tasked with showing the underworld ropes to Conner’s son Kyle (Daniel Diemer), who thoroughly resents having a babysitter sit in on his deals, even though he needs one.

But Thug is having memory issues, forgetting names, addresses and directions. When he finally goes to a doctor, he learns that he is suffering irreversible brain damage from blows to the head that began in childhood and continued routinely throughout both his careers. While his body will endure, he will progress to full dementia in at most a few years.

With this grim prognosis, Thug attempts to make amends with his family. His daughter Daisy (Frankie Shaw) wants nothing to do with him, though Daisy’s young son Dre (Terrence Pulliam) is curious about the grandfather he’s never met before. At about the same time, Thug embarks on an affair with a sensible if self-esteem-challenged woman (Yolanda Ross) he meets in a bar.

And then there’s Conner’s dirty work, which Thug keeps doing, but starts to reflect on for the first time.

Neeson is unafraid to display weakness, terror, confusion, and even pettiness in his performance, creating something that is both persuasive and moving.

Although her role is underwritten, Ross is similarly effective as a character whose common sense and self-destructiveness are at war. Shaw conveys real toughness as Daisy, and Perlman is convincing in his quiet self-assurance as Conner.

The dream sequences here are intriguing and fit easily into the larger framework. Director Moland has a good handle on the working/unemployed-class environments and creates a grayish atmosphere without overdoing it.

Likewise, the filmmakers approach everything in a matter-of-fact manner. Even the action is quick and reflexive, suggesting that the characters all have faced these situations before.

ABSOLUTION doesn’t break any barriers. However, for Neeson fans who want to see the actor tackle a script that is genuinely thoughtful and gives him a worthwhile role, while leaving room for his character to commit some mayhem, this ticks all the boxes.

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