Once upon a time, in the years before 2009 when “Taken” somehow took cinemas by storm, Liam Neeson used to act in all different kinds of movies. Before “Taken” and its many sequels, Neeson starred in movies ranging from the ultra-saccharine Christmas romantic comedy “Love Actually” to genre fare like “The Haunting” remake and “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.” He played Jean Valjean in the 1998 adaptation of “Les Misérables” and brought numerous historical figures to life, including Irish Republican Army founder Michael Collins, 18th-century Scottish highlander Rob Roy, and German industrialist and humanitarian Oskar Schindler.
Unfortunately, since “Taken,” Neeson pretty much only stars in action thrillers, like his absolutely abysmal 2022 movie “Blacklight,” which is currently the prolific actor’s lowest Rotten Tomatoes score. He starred in plenty of great films before that, however, including one of director Steven Spielberg’s best movies: the multiple Academy Award-winning “Schindler’s List.” It should come as no real surprise that “Schindler’s List” is Neeson’s top film on Rotten Tomatoes, as it has a 98% fresh rating from critics (and an always equally impressive 97% audience approval score). It’s also a brilliant, haunting film that forces its audience to face some very difficult truths about humanity in one of its darkest hours. “Schindler’s List” made the top of our best Liam Neeson movie picks, too, so let’s take a look at what makes his performance in this film so special.
Liam Neeson was phenomenal in Schindler’s List
The 1993 historical war drama “Schindler’s List” is an absolutely devastating account of the deeds of Oskar Schindler (Neeson), a German industrialist who managed to save more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees from the Nazis by employing them in his factories. Neeson is phenomenal in the role, and while he didn’t win, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance. Filming “Schindler’s List” was tough on the cast because of the subject matter and filming locations, as they actually filmed certain scenes at the infamous concentration camp, Auschwitz, which caused Neeson to have a bit of a breakdown before his very first scene. The cast kept the constant darkness at bay by spending time with one another and the locals in Krakow, Poland, reminding them of the goodness of humanity that exists alongside absolute evil.
“Schindler’s List” is Neeson’s best film by a long shot, and honestly it’s one of the best films ever made, with everyone involved doing their best work to give us a haunting and horrifying reminder of the Holocaust while warning us just how easily it could happen again. Neeson is excellent as the complicated Schindler, who was an alcoholic and a capitalist who was forced to come face-to-face with the worst of human nature, and it’s honestly a shame that he’s only starred in action shlock for so many years.
Liam Neeson used to play more varied roles
Honestly, it’s frustrating that Neeson has pretty much only starred in action thrillers since “Taken” blew up the box office and turned him into an action star. It’s understandable that he was capitalizing on the success of “Taken” but he used to play much more complex, interesting roles. His 1996 turn as Michael Collins in the Neil Jordan biopic of the same name is phenomenal, and he faces off against a top-of-his-game Alan Rickman as former President of Ireland Eamon de Valera, which is no easy feat. (In fact, Neeson cites “Michael Collins” as one of his favorite roles, though not enough people have seen it!) He’s honestly the best part of “Love Actually,” he’s the scariest super-antihero ever in Sam Raimi’s “Darkman,” and he’s even the best part of “The Phantom Menace,” along with Ewan McGregor and Ray Park.
Since “Taken,” Neeson has starred in a couple of decent flicks, including the woefully under-appreciated Steve McQueen flick “Widows,” and he’s done some fun TV cameos and voice-overs (his appearance on “Atlanta” was honestly kind of wild), but nothing has come close to his pre-“Taken” filmography. Someone hire Liam Neeson to play a complicated and potentially controversial historic figure, stat! It’s been far too long.
