By Geno McGahee
Samuel L. Jackson is one of the most active actors in the world and with good reason. He’s versatile and has a great deal of charisma. There hasn’t been a genre he hasn’t mastered, but he shines the brightest in gritty dramas like THE SAMARITAN. Written by Elan Mastai and David Weaver (who also directed), THE SAMARITAN is a very dark crime drama that brought a great cast together and pulled no punches in the execution.
Foley (Jackson) served 25 years in prison for murder after a deal went bad. He had the option of killing his partner and friend or both of them dying at the hands of some evil goons. Foley shot and killed his friend and went away for a long time. When he’s released, he meets the son of the man he killed, Ethan (Luke Kirby), and a new deal starts developing, but it’s not one that Foley wants any part of. Ethan has established himself as a top mobster and wants to pull a similar deal that put Foley away, but this time, it will be successful. When he doesn’t get what he wants, Ethan uses a junkie prostitute, Iris (Ruth Negga), as leverage and Foley begins to let her in.
At one point, a scumbag named “Jake,” played by Aaron Poole, roughs Iris up and tries to force himself on her. This was the beginning of Foley’s relationship with her. He saves her and before he knows it, they are living together. The convicted murdered and junkie making a go at some sort of normalcy, but Ethan’s deal is still looming and he will not take no for an answer.
Some secrets come out about Iris and Foley now has nobody to turn to. Even his parole officer is dirty. He must go through with the deal to save Iris and to get himself free of Ethan, although that may not happen. Helena (Deborah Kara Unger) is under Ethan’s thumb and must pose as Foley’s wife as they attempt to swindle Xavier (Tom Wilkinson) out of millions. Xavier killed a guy earlier in the film with a broken wine bottle and then spoke of how much he loved a good glass of champagne. I guess he’s not all bad. This leads to a big and bloody showdown and a nice ending to a gritty and dark film.
THE SAMARITAN is a great film. I want to give credit to this incredible cast. Samuel L. Jackson is at his best. It’s very easy to invest into his character and Jackson plays it very low key, turning it up when he needs to. This was a fantastic performance. Ruth Negga proved perfect for the role and was able to ride the line between strong and weak very well. I loved the journey of Iris in this. Luke Kirby, as unimposing as he initially was, quickly became a very overbearing and intimidating character. He’s very easy to hate and that goes the same for Aaron Poole. I have seen Poole in a couple of films, but never in such a role. I had seen him play a junkie in one film but the role of Jake was just evil. The second that he is on the screen, you want to see him beat down. Deborah Kara Unger had a very minor role, but as she always does, she sold it very well. I wish they used her a little more before (spolier) killing her off. One other mention is the great Tom Wilkinson. He was outstanding in this film.
I highly recommend THE SAMARITAN. It’s a film that sort of flew under the radar and maybe that’s because it was just that dark, but it is well worth a watch. I sort of wish they changed one thing in this but you’ll probably figure that out after you watch it. I was hoping for a love connection but one obstacle made it quite impossible.
Rating: 7.5/10