Taglines: His life is dn the line.
Every day, Michael MacCauley (Liam Neeson) goes through the same routine prior to his daily commute. He spends time with his wife Karen (Elizabeth McGovern) and son Danny (Dean-Charles Chapman) before boarding the train to work, frequently engaging with other regular commuters like Walt (Jonathan Banks).
Michael works as a life insurance salesman. However, on this particular day, Michael’s boss calls him into his office to tell him he is being laid off. Despite trying to argue against it, Michael is let go. Michael goes to a bar where he meets his friend, Officer Alex Murphy (Patrick Wilson), who was also Michael’s former partner during his time as a detective.
As they chat, there’s a news story on TV about a city planner that supposedly jumped to his death several nights earlier. Michael admits to Murphy that he hasn’t told Karen about getting laid off yet. They then find a former colleague that they don’t like, Dave Hawthorne (Sam Neill), is now captain. He goes over to chat with the men for a brief moment.
On the train ride home, Michael is told by Walt that a woman is observing him. Michael sits down and is joined by the woman, Joanna (Vera Farmiga). After brief friendly chat, Joanna tells Michael that there is a compartment on the train containing $25,000, plus another $75 in cash. She tells him he can have it as long as he helps find someone at the last stop at Cold Spring under the name “Prynne”. Before departing, Joanna hints at knowing about Michael being a former cop.
Michael looks in the designated compartment and does find the money. When the train reaches a stop, a young woman finds Michael and tries to claim the money, but Michael decides to keep it for himself. The woman then hands Michael an envelope, saying it’s a warning. Michael opens the envelope and finds Karen’s wedding ring. Since he lost his own phone, Michael borrows the phone of another commuter, Tony (Andy Nyman). He tries to call Karen but cannot reach her. He tries Murphy and gets the same result but leaves a message. He then hears from Joanna, who tells him he’s made his choice and must now find Prynne, or something will happen to Karen and Danny.
Michael tries to leave a message for Walt on a piece of newspaper to contact the police. Just then, Michael receives a phone call from Murphy. After Michael tells him what’s going on, Murphy mentions that a witness using the name Prynne claims to have seen two men throwing the city planner to his death. After hanging up with Murphy, Joanna calls Michael again and directs his attention out the window. He sees Walt about to cross the street to talk to officers, but someone working with Joanna pushes Walt into the path of a bus, killing him. She warns Michael this is what happens when he tries to weasel his way out. She instructs Michael to find Prynne and a bag that they are holding, and to put a tracker they slipped on him onto the bag.
The Commuter is a 2018 action thriller film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and written by Byron Willinger, Philip de Blasi and Ryan Engle. The film stars Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Jonathan Banks, Elizabeth McGovern and Sam Neill, and follows a man who is unwittingly recruited into a murder conspiracy after meeting a mysterious woman while on his daily train commute.
The film premiered in New York City on January 8, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United States on January 12, 2018, by Lionsgate, and on January 19, 2018 in the United Kingdom by StudioCanal; it had a select IMAX release. The film has grossed $81 million worldwide and received mixed reviews from critics, who called it familiar to Neeson and Collet-Serra’s previous film, Non-Stop, but praised Neeson’s performance and the genre thrills.
The Commuter (2018)
Directed by: Jaume Collet-Serra
Starring: Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Jonathan Banks, Sam Neill, Elizabeth McGovern, Clara Lago, Killian Scott, Shazad Latif, Andy Nyman, Roland Møller, Florence Pugh
Screenplay by: Byron Willinger, Philip de Blasi, Ryan Engle
Production Design by: Richard Bridgland
Cinematography by: Paul Cameron
Film Editing by: Nicolas De Toth
Costume Design by: Betsy Heimann, Jill Taylor
Set Decoration by: Tina Jones
Art Direction by: David Weller
Music by: Roque Baños
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some intense action/violence, and language.
Distributed by: Lionsgate Films
Release Date: January 12, 2018
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