Run All Night (film)

Run All Night is a 2015 American action thriller film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and written by Brad Ingelsby. The film stars Liam Neeson, Joel Kinnaman, Common and Ed Harris, and follows an ex-hitman who goes on the run with his estranged adult son after he is forced to kill the son of a mafia boss. It was released in the United States on March 13, 2015, received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $71 million worldwide.

Plot
Haunted by his past, former Irish mob enforcer Jimmy "The Gravedigger" Conlon has become an angry drunk. His son Mike, a retired professional boxer who mentors at-risk kids at the local gym, is disgusted by his father's actions and refuses to call him "Dad" or involve him in the lives of his daughters.

Jimmy's old boss and closest friend, Shawn Maguire, rejects an offer to allow the sale of Albanian heroin in his territory. His son Danny, who received a large fee to arrange the deal, is told to return the money or suffer the consequences. Mike, working as a chauffeur, takes the two Albanian creditors to Danny's house. The deal goes bad once Danny reveals that he does not have the money, and a brief shootout ensues which kills one of the Albanians. The other Albanian, wounded, stumbles out of Danny's flat and attempts to escape, only to be shot dead by Danny. The events are witnessed by Mike and his mentee Legs and are captured on Legs' phone. Danny spots them and attempts to kill Mike, but he escapes.

Jimmy has Mike promise not to expose Danny, but Mike refuses to listen. As Mike is leaving, Jimmy spots Danny trying to kill his son and shoots him before he can fire. Shawn sends two corrupt police officers to pick up Mike and kill him, but Jimmy rescues him and shoots and kills one of the corrupt cops before taking Mike him to his family. Mike still distrusts his father, but agrees to give him that night to fix the situation.

Jimmy meets Shawn and tells him that Danny was about to kill Mike, and that he might have to speak to the N.Y.P.D. about his criminal past. Shawn furiously says that the cops care nothing for Jimmy's information, and tells Jimmy he will kill Mike and his family, only then letting Jimmy die.

Jimmy sends Mike's family to a remote cabin and takes Mike with him to retrieve proof of his innocence, but Andrew Price, an assassin hired by Shawn, intercepts them before they can collect the evidence. Jimmy is able to subdue him, but is wounded. Jimmy later contacts Detective Harding, a cop who has not been able to prove Jimmy's responsibility for a long list of homicides. Harding says that witnesses claim Mike was the shooter, not Danny, but Jimmy makes a deal with him: he will prove Mike is innocent and then turn himself in with a list of all the people he murdered in his mob career.

The two hide at the house of Jimmy's brother Eddie. An incensed Eddie reveals that Jimmy is loyal only to Shawn — he once killed his own cousin to prevent him testifying against Shawn and will do the same to Mike. Disgusted and unwilling to trust his father, Mike returns to his family. Seeking to end the blood feud, Jimmy attacks Shawn's hideout and kills him and his gang. At the same time, Legs visits Harding with the video he shot of the murder of the Albanians. Convinced, Harding has the police check the ballistics on Danny's gun.

Mike arrives at the cabin and alerts the police to his location. Jimmy soon arrives, and Mike finally introduces him to his grandchildren. Suddenly, Price returns and attacks the cabin, shooting Jimmy and then hunting down Mike. Mike is cornered by Price, but Jimmy kills him at the last second. Mike runs up to Jimmy and finally calls him "Dad". The police arrive and confirm Legs' evidence has cleared Mike as Jimmy dies, holding the list of his past victims as promised.

In the film's epilogue, Mike is back working as a boxing trainer and chauffeur and living happily with his wife and daughters. He looks wistfully at a photo of himself and Jimmy from long ago on his dresser before he heads out to his shift.

Cast

 * Liam Neeson as Jimmy Conlon
 * Joel Kinnaman as Mike Conlon
 * Ed Harris as Shawn Maguire
 * Common as Mr. Price
 * Vincent D'Onofrio as Detective Harding
 * Boyd Holbrook as Danny Maguire
 * Bruce McGill as Pat Mullen
 * Genesis Rodriguez as Gabriela Conlon
 * Holt McCallany as Frank
 * Malcolm Goodwin as Colston
 * Beau Knapp as Kenan Boyle
 * Lois Smith as Margaret Conlon, Jimmy's mother
 * Aubrey Joseph as Curtis 'Legs' Banks
 * Nick Nolte (Uncredited) as Eddie Conlon

Production
In January 2012, Warner Bros. acquired Brad Ingelsby's script The All-Nighter for a six-figure sum. During the following November, Liam Neeson entered negotiations to star in the film and became a lock in January 2013. At this time, director Jaume Collet-Serra became attached to the film and the title was changed to Run All Night.

Principal photography began on October 3, 2013.

Music
The musical score for Run All Night was composed by Junkie XL. Discussing the leitmotifs, Junkie XL said, "I thought it was much more interesting to look at this movie from an emotional point of view instead of from an actioner point of view." The score was recorded at the Eastwood Scoring Stage at Warner Bros. Studios, featuring a 70-piece string orchestra and a large low brass ensemble. A soundtrack album was released on March 10, 2015 through WaterTower Music.

Instrumentation:
 * String: violins, violas, violiocellos, double basses (70 players)
 * Brass: 12 French Horns, 8 Trombones, bass trombones, cimbasso

Other songs featured in the film include:
 * "Christmas Auld Lang Syne" by Bobby Darin
 * "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dope
 * "Nasty" by Nas
 * "No Way Out" by Dope
 * "Fairytale of New York" (feat. Kristy MacColl) by The Pogues

Box office
Run All Night grossed $26.5 million in North America and $45.1 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $71.6 million, against a budget of $50 million.

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $11 million, finishing second at the box office behind Cinderella ($70.1 million).

Critical reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 59% based on 179 reviews, with a rating average of 5.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Liam Neeson is in typically fine form, but Run All Night suffers from a convoluted plot and workmanlike execution." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 59 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". According to CinemaScore, audiences gave the film a grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.