The Commuter is coming to cinemas in January
After the success of Unknown, Non-Stop and Run All Night, Liam Neeson and the director Jaume Collet-Serra are joining forces for the fourth time for the thriller THE COMMUTER.
“Would you do a seemingly insignificant thing which somebody asked of you for a significant sum of money without being certain what you would cause by doing so?”
The central character in the film finds himself in precisely this situation: a sixty-year-old-man who has been sacked, has no money and is drowning in debt accepts an attractive offer.
After the success of Unknown, Non-Stop and Run All Night, Liam Neeson and the director Jaume Collet-Serra are joining forces for the fourth time for the thriller THE COMMUTER. “Would you do a seemingly insignificant thing which somebody asked of you for a significant sum of money without being certain what you would cause by doing so?” The central character in the film finds himself in precisely this situation: a sixty-year-old-man who has been sacked, has no money and is drowning in debt accepts an attractive offer.
When you lose everything
Michael MacCauley works as a manager in a luxurious insurance company who lives with his wife in the town of Westchester in New York State. His son plans to go to university and his wife doesn’t realise that the family’s luxury life is beyond their means. Michael has been travelling to work on the same train every day for ten years now. One day, he is sacked, goes for a drink in a local bar and then gets back on the train home, resolved to tell all when he gets back. Sitting next to him is a mysterious figure who asks: “Would you like to do me a small favour for 100,000 dollars?” The story plays out in real time and the main character realises what he has caused with his actions by accepting the offer. So he decides to find the man who will help him resolve everything. The danger increases with every station passed and the film quickly becomes a psychological thriller.
Other important characters
The key role of Joanna is played by Vera Farmiga who is no ordinary passenger and who suddenly finds herself in the opposite seat. She introduces herself to Michael as Joanna and makes him the luxurious offer. Somebody on the train has stolen something from her and she needs help. She will reward him well for this. Other roles in the luxurious thriller include Walt (Jonathan Banks), also a commuter to the city, Tony (Andy Nyman), an ordinary New Yorker who is always travelling by train and who lends Michael his telephone. One of the people under suspicion is the university student Gwen (Florence Pugh). We also meet Dylan (Killian Scott), a young man with a tattoo who Michael vaguely recognises, Vince (Shazad Latif), a typical businessman from Wall Street, Jackson (Roland Moller), a burly construction worker, Oliver (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith), a tired-looking man with a guitar case and Sam (Colin McFarlane), the conductor.
A look behind the scenes
The film was shot in the world-famous Pinewood studios in Great Britain as well as in Longcross Studios in Surrey which stood in for New York State in the film.
Most scenes take place in the interior of the train, a full-size model of which had to be constructed from solid walls, windows and doors to make it possible to move it up, down and to the sides, thus simulating travelling by train and allowing for filming both from the inside and from the outside.
The team at Pinewood Studios built a replica of Grand Central Station, 86th Street Station, 110th Street Station and 125th Street Station from the foundations upwards, whereas actual stations in the south of England were used to create the Tarrytown and Cold Spring end stations after having been remodelled as necessary.
The director Jaume Collet-Serra made a luxurious 222.8 million dollars from the previous film Non-Stop in 2014. The film before that, Unknown (2011), didn’t do too badly either making 130.8 million dollars.
