The Samaritan
Director: David Weaver
Starring: Samuel L Jackson, Ruth Negga, Tom Wilkinson
**
A thriller starring Jackson as Foley, a former conman determined to go straight after 25 years in prison, but who is lured into one last job to save a young girl (Negga) from a terrifying truth.
Sadly, the "truth" for the audience of this traditional noir is that there are few, if any, surprises waiting. The poorly written script lets down an otherwise strong cast. Even Jackson looks beleaguered at points in the story.
On the plus side, both he and Wilkinson (as a criminal kingpin) have presence and make the early and latter stages of the film more interesting. That is cold comfort, however, for a film that never quite catches your interest as you hope it would.
