Jack Gleeson played a character so despicable in just over three seasons of Game of Thrones that rumors about his well-being widened. Fans are said to have taken out their anger at Joffrey Baratheon on the actor, it was said. He even gave up his job out of frustration.
Gleeson has refuted these rumors, but he ended his first career at the age of 22. Others dream of an acting springboard like Game of Thrones, Jack Gleeson swapped it for a matriculation certificate. The Irishman has now given up plans for an academic career. Gleeson is making movies again and series. His most prominent post-GOT project to date is a thriller starring Liam Neeson, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival last week.
The thriller with Game of Thrones star Jack Gleeson takes you back to the 70s
The Joffrey actor’s new film is called In the Land of Saints and Sinners and he once again plays a sinner. Gleeson takes on the role of a hitman who gleefully reports when his victims beg for their lives.
First, déjà vu sets in to the good old days of torture on Game of Thrones, when he wielded a crossbow instead of a hunting rifle. After his first scene, I was afraid that the dark brown hair was just camouflage for the spoiled soul of Joffrey 2.0. I was wrong.
Signature Entertainment
Jack Gleeson in In the Land of Saints and Sinners
In the Land of Saints and Sinners takes place in 1974, which explains the former Westerosi’s hairstyle. After a terrorist attack in Northern Ireland, IRA men fled across the border to the Republic, where they went into hiding in a village. Unfortunately, an ex-contract killer (Liam Neeson) wants to retire in this small town with flowerbeds and neighborly flirtations. When one of the terrorists draws his grudge, the killer reverts to his old ways. The fierce leader of the IRA force (Kerry Condon) doesn’t let this go. The dead man was her brother.
Not a special thriller, but a top cast
The thriller hardly stands out from the Liam Neeson-flattens-people subgenre of the last two decades. Director Robert Lorenz only has eyes for the images that will make the Irish Tourism Association happy. The rest of the schematic script is staged unadorned. In the Land of Saints and Sinners is worth seeing thanks to the Guard of Irish or Northern Irish character actorslike Colm Meaney, Ciarán Hinds and Kerry Condon.
Condon takes control of the film. Her character proves to be a refreshing contrast to her comparatively quiet role in The Banshees of Inisherin. After all, she punches people in the face regardless of age or gender and marches through the village as if she had a thousand men behind her. Which in turn is a nice visualization of their ideological solidity. It quickly becomes clear: Neeson has an equal opponent on the acting field.
Signature Entertainment
Liam Neeson in In the Land of Saints and Sinners
Jack Gleeson could use a role like this in which he can demonstrate unusual facets. Because anyone who knows him automatically thinks of a little blonde tormentor.
In the Land of Saints and Sinners doesn’t offer this in full, but at least in part. Gleeson plays Neeson’s young killer colleague, who is drawn into the story. He doesn’t want to know about the old wisdom any more than he wants to know about compassion.
Instead of hatred develops Sympathy for the emotionally neglected young man, because we see through his façade of coolness. Which in turn only succeeds because Gleeson clears the way for it. We see how hard his jokes are, how staged his hardened demeanor is, how much he wants to belong. It’s a tricky and mature performance that only superficially seems like typecasting.
Why the role makes up for Joffrey’s weaknesses
In principle, Gleeson shows what was only partially possible with Joffrey. Cersei’s son stood out among the ranks of Game of Thrones butchers because he was a… was a boy who grew up to be a man, to match the long, bloodstained shadow of previous rulers. In this, for example, he differed from his unofficial Sado successor and sausage slinger Ramsay Bolton. Joffrey was easy to read. It was left at that and so he died as he lived: while spoiling the food for others.
HBO
Jack Gleeson in Game of Thrones
In his filmic trip to Ireland, Gleeson is able to look further behind the facade in just a few scenes than Game of Thrones had allowed him to do. This is how he achieves a point where it truly touches. So mentally, not in terms of the dimensions of a flesh wound. It is not yet clear whether Jack Gleeson will or can leave Joffrey behind. With In the Land of Saints and Sinners he at least takes a convincing first step.
In the Land of Saints and Sinners currently does not have a German release date.