Deepra Sarkar
Liam Neeson plays yet another role of a rescuer in Robert Lorenz’s ‘The Marksman.’ The action-thriller follows Neeson’s Jim Hanson, a rancher and retired Marine, as he tries to help a young boy, Miguel (Jacob Perez), escape a Mexican drug cartel and reach his family in Chicago. Other cast members entail Teresa Ruiz as Rosa (Miguel’s mother), Katheryn Winnick as Sarah Pennington, and Juan Pablo Raba as Maurico, the leader of the cartel chasing Miguel and his mother.
Apart from its diverse cast, the film has received mixed reviews from the critics who favor Neeson’s performance to the film’s overall plot design. The story of a man who reluctantly has to play hero is brought alive by Liam Neeson’s immaculate portrayal of his character. Besides, the other cast members also contribute in narrating a story that seems to be pulling the audience back to the ‘70s and ‘80s.
Shot across expanses of deserts and country landscapes, ‘The Marksman’ is a rather unique yet predictable tale, making the movie worth a watch. The film also subtly depicts the rampant immigrant issues at the Mexican-American border and the related drug crises. You might be wondering if the film is based on any real events, and we are here to answer that question for you.
Is The Marksman Based On a True Story?
No, ‘The Marksman’ is not based on a true story. Director and co-writer, Robert Lorenz, agreed that the film is not limited to just one genre. And that was the primary reason for his attraction towards the script, which comprised strong influences of Westerns besides other genres like thrillers and road trip movies. The plot centers on Jim Hanson, who is a relatively down-to-earth person trying to keep out of trouble.
He has recently lost his wife, and among his plethora of problems is his ranch, which is being threatened with foreclosure from the bank. Hanson’s aspiration of keeping life simple is shattered when he unwantedly becomes a witness to the murder of a young migrant woman, Rosa, as she is trying to flee from a Mexican drug cartel with her 11-year-old son, Miguel. Thereafter, Hanson finds himself in an unusual position of fulfilling a dying mother’s wish to ensure her son safely reaches her relatives in Chicago.
After rescuing Miguel from border authorities, the duo embarks on a cross-country chase between them and the cartel killers led by Maurico, whose priority is the large sum of drug money that Miguel has. While Hanson demonstrates his shooting skills imbibed from his military career, he suffers when using modern technology. Through the road-trip, the audience can feel a bond growing between the man and the young boy.
The film skillfully represents the issues faced by Central American natives who are deprived of a standard quality of life owing to the violent problems in those regions. They can either move north in search of a better life in the U.S, which is the case for Rosa and Miguel in ‘The Marksman,’ or they can seek employment in the region’s flourishing industries, organized crime, and drug trafficking.
Mexico is the leading supplier of heroin and methamphetamine for the American target market besides being a top producer of several other drugs. Moreover, there is a stigma at work in some portions of the American community against Central American migrants which adds to the obstacles the migrants must cross. Even though the plotline is not connected to real-life events, ‘The Marksman’ manages to establish a tale with strong foundations in the very relevant issues the country is facing currently.
Read More: The Marksman Filming Locations
