See Liam Neeson As A Hardboiled 1930s Private Eye

Philip Marlowe stars as the iconic 1930s detective in his new film Marlowe.

By TeeJay Small
| Published 1 hour ago

The trailer has been released for Liam Neeson’s latest film outing, Marlowe, on YouTube. In the trailer, Neeson anchors the film with his gritty, hardboiled performance as the titular Detective Philip Marlowe, alongside co-stars Jessica Lange and Diane Kruger, set in 1930s Hollywood. The movie is set to arrive in theaters on February 15th, and promises to be a classic film noir experience from The Crying Game writer and director Neil Jordan.

The film is said to follow Liam Neeson’s Marlowe as he is hired to find the former lover of Diane Kruger’s glamorous heiress. Things seem to become more complicated when Kruger’s prying movie star mother Jessica Lange becomes involved, unearthing a web of deceit, driving the detective into a dangerous investigation of power and corruption, and threatening to expose secrets that could sink his career as a private eye. The plot feels very reminiscent of noir thrillers from the early 20th century, calling back to a nostalgic era of film that has fallen to the wayside in favor of large-scale blockbusters and comic book adaptations.

According to IMDb, Liam Neeson has over 139 acting credits including Marlowe, with 6 films in various stages of active production. The star made his breakout role in a John Bunyan adaptation called Pilgrim’s Progress in 1978 before going on to star in iconic films such as Steven Spielberg‘s Schindler’s List, Taken, and Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.

In recent years, Liam Neeson has taken on a reputation for leading roles that feature excessive violence and grit, which looks to be taking center stage in this trailer, as Philip Marlowe can be seen bashing a chair into a dozen pieces over an assailant’s head.

Liam Neeson also seems to be getting a bit of redemption with Marlowe, after he made waves in the media back in 2019 for some problematic racial comments. The Ordinary Love star assured hosts of Good Morning America that his comments were misunderstood and that he is assuredly not a racist, though his rebuttals seemed to fall on deaf ears. After a recent appearance as a fictionalized version of himself on Donald Glover’s FX show Atlanta, Liam Neeson poignantly clarified his intentions with these comments before humorously doubling down, showing that he has moved on and is willing to joke about his own career blunders.

Marlowe is based on a 2014 novel by John Banville, called The Black Eyed Blonde, and features the character of Philip Marlowe, which has been featured in eleven films since being created by Raymond Chandler in 1939. Though the film takes place in Los Angeles, principal photography took place in Barcelona, Spain, and Dublin, Ireland. The film premiered at the 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival on September 24th, but audiences can see Liam Neeson bring Marlowe to life in theaters across the country this February.

Will Liam Neeson’s performance as private detective Philip Marlowe bring the classic film noir aesthetic of the early 20th century back to prominence? For now, we’ll just have to wait and see.