Marlowe: Liam Neeson is a gumshoe on the LA scene in the trailer for a new noir film

The period Los Angeles film noir makes a return courtesy of director Neil Jordan. Liam Neeson makes a turn as Raymond Chandler’s famous gumshoe detective, Philip Marlowe, in what initially looks like a slight departure from his second career as an action star. However, this detective can still scrap with the best of Neeson’s other characters with a particular set of skills. The trailer has just been unveiled via the production company Open Road. Neeson is joined by an all-star cast including Diane Kruger, Jessica Lange, Alan Cumming, Danny Huston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and Colm Meaney.

The official synopsis from Open Road reads,
MARLOWE, a gripping noir crime thriller set in late 1930’s Los Angeles, centers around a street-wise, down on his luck detective; Philip Marlowe, played by Liam Neeson, who is hired to find the ex-lover of a glamorous heiress (Diane Kruger), daughter of a well-known movie star (Jessica Lange). The disappearance unearths a web of lies, and soon Marlowe is involved in a dangerous, deadly investigation where everyone involved has something to hide.

Neil Jordan, known for the notorious Crying Game, directs a screenplay from William Monahan, who has written scripts for films such as The Departed, Kingdom of Heaven, and Edge of Darkness. The film is produced by Alan Moloney, Gary Levinsohn, Mark Fasano, Billy Hines, Philip Kim, and Patrick Hibler.

The official one-sheet poster has also been released and is designed in the style of classic 1930s film noir movies that starred the likes of Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson. Mersin follows in a rich tradition of tough guys playing the famous detective, with Bogart, Robert Mitchum, Dick Powell (arguably the best), Elliot Gould (also great) and James Caan all having played Marlowe at one time or another. Films such as these are quaint homages to the golden age of Hollywood, and while films like L.A. Confidential and Black Dahlia try to recapture the era, Jordan and company are seemingly attempting to emulate the style of dirty secrets among the glitz and glam of tinsel town.

Neeson is well aware his age won’t permit him to continue to keep up with Taken-type kinetic action, and as his latest efforts have seen more modest releases, this kind of role is a natural evolution to a “past-his-prime” protagonist that has one last case in him and can still fight his way out of a situation when push comes to shove.

Marlowe is set to start its run in theaters on February 15 with special previews set to be held on Valentine’s Day.