So here’s your first peek at the trailer for the
Universal suspense thriller A Walk Among the Tombstones which opens September
19th (a week before The Equalizer with Denzel Washington), starring Liam
Neeson, based on a novel by Lawrence Block, adapted to screenplay and directed
by Scott Frank.
If you have been a regular reader then you know that Tambay
and I have some concerns about the film and, in particular, the character of a
black, streetwise kid called TJ, who is played
by Brian “Astro” Bradley in the
film.
Not having read the actual novel, a few years ago I read
a draft of the screenplay which I thought was a terrific, riveting script; In particular
I liked the character of TJ who I said
at the time (HERE) “was
no typical black sidekick role, but a solidly developed, multi-dimensional…character; a little geeky with plenty of sharp wit and
intelligence, who’s Scudder’s equal in every way. In fact he’s actually the
hero in the script, saving the kidnapped Russian woman at the end, in a really
suspenseful climax (and he lives to see the end too!). It would be an
absolutely terrific part for a young, upcoming black actor.”
The caveat was that, I read a draft of the script, not
the final shooting script, which means anything could have happened from the time
I read the script to actual production, with all of the usual rewrites and revisions
that aren’t so uncommon in Hollywood projects, and that the TJ role could wind up being be “greatly
diminished, horribly stereotyped and buffoonish.”
Tambay, however read the actual novel, and the script, and was very concerned (HERE) saying that the TJ in the book was “as stereotypical a character as you can get
in this kind of hard-boiled crime novel. He’s a young black man from the
streets, obnoxious, mouthy, and of course he’s street smart, and is depicted as
you’d expect a young black kid from the hood to be portrayed. But he’s
essentially our hero’s, Matt Scudder’s/Liam Neeson’s, sidekick, and connection
to those areas of the city that Scudder himself would have a challenging time
infiltrating."
So which TJ shall we see in the film? He’s barely seen in
the trailer, which would give anyone the idea that he’s an insignificant character
in the story, when, at least, in the draft that I read, a very integral part of
the story.
So will it be good news or bad? We’ll just have to wait and see. But the
trailer does make the film at least look good. Judge for yourself:
