Spoilers would call an uber.
The dynamic behind a veteran at a dangerous job and a rookie has been the topic of many features. However, usually there’s some teacher-student or jedi-padawan agreement already setup by which the master advices and the apprentice soaks it in. It’s the teacher’s role to be calm and controlled while the reckless student at least has some natural talent. That guidebook was not followed here and it shows, unfortunately not in a good way.
The Liability (2012) was directed by Craig Viveiros and written by John Wrathall. Adam (Jack O’Connell) is young, reckless and most of all, stupid. After he trashes the car, he gets scolded by her mother’s mobster boyfriend Peter (Peter Mullan) and agrees to do a job. The job consists on driving around Roy (Tim Roth) who turns out to be a hitman. Drawn to what he thinks is a cool gig, Adam asks Roy to show him the tricks of the trade. The results are bound to be catastrophic.
Here’s the good news. There’s no style, mantra or zen in what Roy does. It’s dirty, messy and often chaotic. Unlike other depictions of hitmen, Roy is no James Bond. He’s got a revolver, he has to dispose of the bodies, he drives any car that will not guarantee a second look. There is no perfect murder, and when a witness appears out of the blue (Talulah Riley) he has his doubts about killing her. Now, although you might think she (she is never given a name) is the proverbial liability I will argue that the real hurdle is Adam. There’s a few sprinkles of comedy, and I guess he’s supposed to be the comic relief, but the subject is really too gray to laugh out loud.
I’m glad that the entire assassin lifestyle is not glamorized in this film, but it was really hard to connect with our protagonist and pov character, Adam. In any other film, he would be the character that gets killed (or unintentionally takes himself out) the next moment. Tim Roth is sharp as the jaded and flawed hitman Roy, but I’d argue he and Adam never really have enough of a rapport to be considered partners. Then there’s the decision to give “the girl” (Talulah Riley’s character, literally named that way in the cast list) an agenda but not a name. It’s very subtle, but she’s far more involved in the plot that it appears and barely gets a few lines. The ending is anti-climatic and the final scene doesn’t work for me.
Not recommended, much to my dismay. Yes, I appreciated the more realistic, gritty and downtrodden world of a hitman depicted here. Tim Roth plays basically the only relatable character for me, although he’s basically the outsider here. There’s little to no relatability with the young character, Adam – it’s almost like he’s playing an idiot on purpose. Not worth a watch in my opinion, but your mileage may vary.
That will do for now.
Never Think Impossible 