A convict, just released from prison, has a hard time going straight in a dangerously crooked world. As he falls for a prostitute with a heart of gold, he desperately negotiates a labyrinth of duplicity and criminality. It’s an old story and the few novel kinks in the plot machinery of The Samaritan can’t make it revelatory. But wait: The Samaritan stars the always superb Samuel L. Jackson as the ex-con protagonist, whose fierce glower fades to regret in the blink of an eye. The acting is solid all around, including the bad guy, a sociopath played with a twitchy snigger by Luke Kirby. Ruth Negga is sympathetic as the golden hearted call girl and Tom Wilkinson puts in a creepy performance as the sadistic epicurean kingpin behind the tale. The Samaritan is out on DVD.
