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Liam Neesonhas become so closely identified with the action genre over the past 15 years that it’s easy to forget what an accomplished and interesting dramatic actor he was before the surprising box-office success of the firstTakenfilm completely changed the trajectory of Neeson’s career,with increasingly diminishing returns.
Neeson proved his dramatic ability with his breakthrough Hollywood role in the 1987 legal mystery thriller filmSuspect, in which he plays Carl Anderson, a deaf and mute homelessVietnam War veteranwho is arrested and prosecuted for the murder of a Justice Department legal typist. Suspect stars Cher as Kathleen Riley, a public defender who’s assigned to defend Anderson in the trial, which is connected to the highest corridors of Washington, D.C. power, and Dennis Quaid, who plays Eddie Sanger, a congressional lobbyist and juror who assists Riley in attempting to prove Anderson’s innocence.
Cher and Quaid are excellent inSuspect, which is a superior entry in the courtroom drama genre. However,the most powerful performance inSuspectis by Neeson, who effectively portrays his character’s personality and thoughts solely through body language and facial expressions. Beyond Neeson’s Oscar-nominated performance in Steven Spielberg’s 1993 Holocaustdrama filmSchindler’s List, Neeson’s performance inSuspectis arguably the most impressive dramatic performance of his career.
‘Suspect’ Features Liam Neeson’s Most Challenging Performance
Suspectopens with the suicide ofa Supreme Court justice, who commits suicide after giving an important envelope to Elizabeth Quinn, a Justice Department legal typist whose lifeless body is subsequently found floating in the Potomac River after her throat was slit. At the murder scene, the police probe a nearby homeless encampment, where Liam Neeson’s character, Carl Anderson, is found with a large knife and the victim’s wallet.
The central theme ofSuspectis homelessness, which encompasses each of the film’s three main characters. Cher’s character, jaded and overworked public defender Kathleen Riley, feels like she’s homeless because the most meaningful relationships in her life are with murderers and rapists. Dennis Quaid’s character, congressional lobbyist Eddie Sanger, feels similarly adrift because of how his job has forced him to sacrifice his integrity, as seen when Sanger sleeps witha female congressional representativein order to procure her vote for a congressional bill.
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Of course,the theme of homelessnessis most clearly embodied by Anderson, who initially appears as a disheveled and savage vagrant until he silently reveals his personal history, in which Vietnam veteran Anderson became deaf and mute after contracting spinal meningitis.Neeson’s ability to make the audience empathize with Anderson without dialogue represents the alchemy of acting. This is especially evident during his emotional courtroom testimony, when Anderson, who testifies through written answers, struggles to choke out an answer to the key question of whether Anderson killed the victim.
‘Suspect’ Launched Neeson to Hollywood Stardom
Following the release ofSuspect, Liam Neeson had supporting roles in several more feature films beforehe made his feature-starring debutin the 1990 superhero horror filmDarkman. His titular performance inDarkmanparallels his performance inSuspectin terms of how he transcends Darkman’s monstrous appearance and compels audiences to care about Darkman and become emotionally invested in his quest for rehabilitation and revenge.
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Hollywood has released countless courtroom dramas that have captivated and stunned audiences with their riveting themes and storytelling.
The commercial and critical success ofDarkmanbrought Neeson to the cusp of Hollywood stardom. He followed his star-making performance as Oskar Schindler inSchindler’s Listwith leading dramatic roles in the filmsMichael Collins,Nell, andRob Roy, which in turn led to blockbuster roles, beginning withNeeson’s epic performanceas Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn inStar Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace.
‘Suspect’ Is an Underrated Courtroom Thriller That Warrants Multiple Viewings
UnlikeJeff Bridges’ accused-murderer characterin the 1985 courtroom thriller filmJagged Edge, Liam Neeson’s character inSuspect, Carl Anderson, is quickly absolved by audiences of being guilty of murder. This leaves audiences to speculate as to which of the film’s remaining characters is the actual killer. The reveal of the killer inSuspectwas a point of conflict for critic Roger Ebert, who felt that the ending ofSuspectwas too arbitrary to be credible. InEbert’s reviewofSuspectfrom 1987, he wrote:
“I began to develop a real case of resentment, because the murderer is a complete dark horse. That’s not fair. It’s as if an Agatha Christie novel evaluated six suspects in a British country house, and then, in the last chapter, we discover the killer was a guy from next door.”
The killer is actually cleverly concealed inSuspect, in which the motive is revealed to be connected to a fixed trial from 1968 that the murder victim uncovered.Upon repeated viewings ofSuspect, it becomes increasingly clear as to how the killer orchestrated events to put themselves in the best position with which to affect the trial’s outcome. However, as the murder victim, Elizabeth Quinn exists solely as a catalyst figure for the film’s thriller plot, the real victim inSuspectis Anderson. This is a testament to Neeson’s performance, in which he reveals more character and emotions through silence than most other actors can with an endless amount of words.Suspectis streaming onTubi.
