In Cold Pursuit, Liam Neeson stars as a grieving father seeking justice for the death of his son. His violent scheme quickly escalates to a full-blown gang war, with all sides seeking to murder each other in overlapping quests for futile revenge.

A remake of the 2014 Norwegian film, In Order of Disappearance, Cold Pursuit is as dark and violent as it is hilarious and surreal, with tons of Fargo-esque black comedy and deeply-written characters going a long way towards balancing out its action-packed storyline.

While promoting the film, star Liam Neeson spoke with Screen Rant about Cold Pursuit, being drawn to a different style from his usual action movie fare, and shooting in the beautiful and scenic Alberta, Canada.

This movie subverts expectations. You’ve almost become a genre unto yourself, “The Liam Neeson Action Movie,” and this takes that and subverts it at every single turn.

Is that what drew you to this project?

Yes.

Well, isn’t that everybody in this movie, in a way?

It most certainly did, yeah. I saw the original film and thought it was just wonderful. I met with Michael Shamberg, our wonderful producer, and he said, “Look, we’re going to do an American version of it,” and I thought, “Well, let’s see what the script’s like.” So, eventually, I got Frank Baldwin’s script, and I thought he had done a superb job. I loved how the Native Americans were used as a lynchpin of the whole film, played superbly by these First Nation actors from Canada. I got the chance to have Laura Dern, the great Laura Dern, as my wife. Yeah, I just loved how it was subverted, you know? You think you’re going down this road, and then suddenly, you’ve been tagged this way. You invest some emotion in all the characters, too, I think. Especially the bad ones!

Speaking a little bit behind the scenes of the movie, you’ve always been in shape. You’ve always been, you know, a macho guy!

Sure!

Are you a workout guy?

I don’t know about “macho,” but I think it’s important to keep in shape, because this is my factory, you know?

What do you like to do?

Yeah.

Well, it’s certainly working for you! So, Alberta, Canada.

I do very basic stuff. I mean, I just… Basic. I don’t use a trainer, I just do my own thing, you know?

Cold?

Stunning.

I’ve not. I’ve not. I wish.

Have you been there?

Beautiful scenery.

It’s breathtaking. Cold, yes. Awesome. You feel that size (small) beside mother nature up there, you know?

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It’s beautiful, and I think it’s a major character in the film, too, you know? There’s no blue screen stuff there. That’s the real thing. The light changes all the time, and I think the film captures that, too, you know? Dangerous, sometimes; we had to come off the mountain because there was a snowstorm coming in. The Teamsters had to get all the gear down to safety, so that happened a couple of times, but it added to the drama and the excitement of the piece, I think.

  • Cold Pursuit Release Date: 2019-02-08