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Indeed, if Collet-Serra has already proven himself an earnest admirer of the Master of Suspense in the Neeson vehicles Unknown and Non-Stop, this movie seems like a veritable fanboy letter - from plot points ripped out of the aforementioned train-set flicks to a fight scene that takes a few cues from Shadow of a Doubt to the fact that the story kicks off in Grand Central Station, where Cary Grant headed out West with Eva Marie Saint in North by Northwest. Making the most of the setting and scenario, the filmmakers dip into Hitchcock’s toolbox many a time, starting with a Vertigo-style dolly zoom the moment MacCauley realizes what a jam he’s in. Yet even if it’s easy to predict that MacCauley will come out on top, part of what makes The Commuter so watchable is the way Collet-Serra and writers Byron Willinger, Philip de Blasi and Ryan Engle tease out the tension throughout the protagonist’s long voyage home, keeping the pyrotechnics to a minimum until the final reel. Oh, and also, if he doesn’t help out, his family will be killed.Īnyone who’s seen Neeson in the Taken franchise - part of an action subgenre sometimes referred to as “daddy porn” - should know by now that you do not mess with the man’s brethren. train at Grand Central Station and quickly finds himself face-to-face with Joanna (Vera Farmiga), a flirty femme fatale who makes him a curious offer: If he can identity a certain someone named Prynne who isn’t part of the usual commuting crowd, then he will be awarded a decent chunk of change. Such is the setup when Neeson boards a packed 6 p.m. We also learn that he used to be in the NYPD, which will help explain why, later on, he’s so good at handling a gun or beating the bejesus out of anyone who gets in his way.

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But on this particular day, MacCauley is beset with a slew of problems before the story even begins: He has to figure out how to pay college tuition for his children at the same time that he’s been laid off from work just a few months shy of retirement.


Neeson plays Michael MacCauley, an Irishman in New York (no need to justify the brogue) whose backstory is dished out in an expedited 10 minutes, including a whiplash opening credits sequence that shows him repeatedly taking the same Hudson Line train from his picturesque suburb to his job selling insurance in the city. Liam Neeson Talks Democracy Saying "No Man, Certainly Not the President, is Above the Law" | TIFF 2017
