Liam Neeson in ‚Retribution.‘
Stephan Rabold/Roadside AttractionsLiam Neeson is no stranger to action thrillers, and his latest hits all the beats that fans of his work in the genre have come to expect. What keeps bringing him back? Retribution’s director Nimród Antal might have found the answer.
„Liam was already attached when I joined the project, so I was joining a Liam Neeson film,“ he explained. „All I can say about Liam and this was a man that I spent two months with, every day, and this man showed up with sincere love for the craft and the process. I don’t know his decision-making processes on any given project, but I do know that he is a man who truly not only appreciates it but genuinely loves it.
„At this stage, I just want to work with passionate people. I can’t say that enough. In a world where everybody is too cool for school, and we’re all presenting this Instagram version of our lives, it makes a massive difference when you see that passion in someone willing to be vulnerable on screen, coming so prepared and staying all day.“
The filmmaker, also known for Predators and Vacancy, continued, „There were times there where we would say to him, ‚Hey, we’ve got 20 minutes here to relight,‘ and he wouldn’t go back to his trailer. He would sit on a chair on the set and spend time with the crew and the cast. This is who this guy is, and I love that. I love seeing someone who loves what they do, and they’re not scared to say it or show it.“
Antal understood where Neeson, who he described as a „phenomenal human being,“ was coming from.
„I’m someone who truly loves what I do. I have no other skills whatsoever in practical life, so I would be in real trouble if this whole audiovisual storytelling thing were to go away,“ he confessed. „My love for it is sincere, and I always tell younger folks that are starting, you have to love this because the neglect, the abuse, all the horrid things you’re going to have to withstand, the only way you’re going to survive that is if you truly love it. All I can say about Liam and this was a man I spent two months with every day, and this man showed up with sincere love for the craft and the process.“
Retribution sees Neeson play financier Matt Turner who gets a call from a mystery person informing him there’s a bomb under his car seat and the only way to survive is to do as he’s told. What ensues is a commute that becomes a citywide cat-and-mouse chase that is a matter of life or death.
The actioner is a remake of the 2015 Spanish film El Desconocido, but it’s not the first time that movie has been reimagined. There have already been German and South Korean remakes. Antal avoided them all, picking different influences to tell the story how he wanted to.
„I made a point of it,“ the filmmaker explained. „I remember someone from the studio was saying, ‚Hey, you remember that scene and how well they did that thing?‘ I bluffed and said, ‚Yeah, that was fantastic.‘ To this day, I have not seen the Spanish or the German remake.
„I mean no disrespect to my colleagues, but it was all done to keep it fresh and authentic. I didn’t want it to be an aftertaste. It wasn’t done out of arrogance; it was just done out of simply wanting to avoid being influenced by those films.“
Antal added, „Two films came to mind as influences. One was Duel, and the other was Locke. I’m a fan of both. I remember specifically Locke I recall seeing in a movie theater and truly being impressed by what the filmmakers, Tom Hardy and the director Steven Knight, could do with such limited real estate. We also talked a bit about The French Connection, especially the more visceral stuff in the car. We tried to keep the frenetic energy and mimic the visuals to instill a similar feeling.“
Something Retribution continued to have in common with the Spanish and German versions was that it retained a European location rather than switching it to the US, the home country of Neeson’s character.
„I wouldn’t say it was important to me to keep it in Europe, but I did want to embrace this idea of a fish out of water,“ Antal explained. „I did think there was something interesting to not only being invaded in your personal space but while being in a city that isn’t familiar.“
Liam Neeson answers the call in ‚Retribution.‘
Stephan Rabold/Roadside AttractionsWhile around half of the film was shot on location, some of the in-car activity was shot on a soundstage using volume technology which is similar to a green screen but with photorealistic backgrounds.
„Even though the car is consistently moving, most of those moments were captured in the volume,“ Antal revealed. „For the more frenetic stuff, we had a gut feeling that we would need to go onto a trailer and do more of a classic approach, as opposed to the digital approach.
„We did a test where we captured a plate, played it in the volume, and had the camera in the backseat looking forward over a shoulder. With the same lens and same camera, we went to the actual location and captured someone sitting in the front seat looking over the shoulder. Whether you believe it or not, the volume was more realistic than the actual footage captured on location. It was fascinating to see that the in situ stuff felt fake compared to the volume.“
Retribution getting a wide theatrical release is something of an anomaly given that with the current box office climate and so many films of this genre heading straight to streaming.
„I have a lot of gratitude to StudioCanal and Roadside Attractions for committing to making this a theatrical release,“ Antal states with genuine relief. „What I am seeing on the streaming side of things, there’s a question of quality and to have an entity like Roadside or StudioCanal put their faith into a project and say, ‚We want this to be, at least initially, to have a theatrical life,‘ I can’t tell you how happy I am.
„I’ve been very fortunate so far that all my feature films have gone theatrical. I haven’t had anything planned as a theatrical film that has gone straight to streaming. It’s also a very good feeling for me because it feels like a stamp of approval from the distributors. It feels like they’re invested and believe in it, and that’s a good thing.“
Like so many films in 2023, due to writers and actors strikes in Hollywood, Retribution is the latest movie unable to utilize the star power of its lead to promote the film and help put butts in seats. As a filmmaker, Antal is philosophical about the situation.
„I think the real filmmakers are going to be here, regardless of any systems or any changes in how they are financing or releasing these films,“ he mused. „We want our films to be theatrical, we want as much of an audience to see them as possible, and it’s opportunities like speaking to you now that allow that to happen.
„Films are going to survive regardless of what any current system is experiencing, whether that be political or some sort of business tactic; we’re always going to be here.“