Taffin (1988)

Wouldn't have been easier just to pay your debt?
I hadn't heard of this 1988 film before, and I'm a Brosnan fan. This one did not disppoint me--very action packed! It was set in Pierce Brosnan's native Ireland. Here he plays Mark Taffin a rather hardcore debt collector, that gets the job done. He is a loner with a conscience and heart, though. Taffin gets himself involved with the town's people because of these abilities and they need a person who could go to bat for them against a big business that was going to destroy their beloved sportsfield to make way for a harmful chemical plant. Pierce was at his best in this action movie. A great, but obscure movie for Pierce and just plain good entertainment. If you like action packed films and Bond, you'll like this one.

3 star film, 4 star brosnan
This film is an engaging variation of the immortal theme of good battling with and finally winning over evil and great odds. It is engaging because Pierce Brosnan is a kind of modern Robin Hood, and is (as always) so good to look at, impossibly handsome but also an excellent actor, commanding attention. He has the kind of looks that makes this writer, rather uncharacteristically, wish that people could remain young forever. His co-stars in the film match him in performances that are convincing, with the exception of Alison Doody, who is beautiful too, but (in my opinion) somewhat cliched in her approach to her character, her acting abilities insufficient for a role which I feel is quite seminal in the story (in spite of the contemporary interest in sexual expression, there is more to acting than sex and/or taking one's clothes off). This is particularly noticeable in the final scenes, where she berates Taffin's former friends in the pub for not believing in him. Her delivery just didn't match the power of the words she was given to say. Nevertheless, the story ends in a way that is emotionally satisfying, thought slightly bittersweet, in that through misfortune, Taffin has to leave the small town where he grew up, to enter the larger stage of the world, which he is quite capable of taking on.

Brosnan gets role he can really work with - and it works on so many levels
It is a well known fact that I am not a great admirer of Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. Although he looked handsome enough to be James Bond he never looked tough enough. Much has been made of the fact that although the newest 007 Daniel Craig does not look handsome enough to play the secret agent (some going as far as to call him "ugly") he does look tough enough to play the part.
In fact I would say that Brosnan looked tougher in the thriller FOURTH PROTOCOL in the part of the Soviet agent (see my review on that product page) and in this movie (made around the same time as the Forsyth thriller) he managed to convey a certain dangerous quality.
In this movie, set in his native Ireland, Brosnan plays a debt collector (Mark Taffin) who when not working is happy to spend his time reading books on philosophy and theory. The movie starts by showing us Taffin collecting on some debts. These opening sequences establish his tough credentials as we see him beat up three men in a restaurant (and in the process demolish the establishments dining room) and go head to head with a barman and getting his way (with the help of a wine glass.) Yes, this guy is a toughie, but not one without a softer side displayed when he gives advice to a group of local youths on how to get even with a crooked car dealer who sold them a `lemon.'
Although disapproving of his methods the villagers approach him about saving a local sports field threatened by an access road and then stopping the construction of a chemical plant that was to have been served by the access road. In doing so Taffin must confront a shady Mr. Big-style business figure, his henchmen and an assorted group of corrupt politicians in the pocket of the magnate.
This is a very entertaining movie that reminded me of the Mike Figgis movie STORMY MONDAY in its depiction of provincial gang violence. But whereas that movie involved the attempt to foil an American developer (played by Tommy Lee Jones) from intimidating Sting's nightclub character in the English city of Newcastle, this movie is much more rural in its focus and is all the better for it. The characters are well drawn and the cast chosen takes full advantage turning in believable performances.
Brosnan's character avoids falling into the trap of being an unsympathetic character. The danger is there since he uses less than honorable tactics involving everything from blackmail to downright violence, but we know that he is fighting on the side of what is right and just so we can forgive him. He is also well drawn as a character and in addition to witnessing his troubles with girlfriend Charlotte, we also see him at home with his mother and brother. Its in these dramatic scenes that Brosnan really shows us why he is such an acclaimed actor. I have a new respect for him after seeing him in this movie.
On an interesting side note Brosnan is joined here by Alison Doody as Charlotte, who played the part of a Bond girl in the 007 movie A VIEW TO A KILL. Of course he would go on to play the lead in the series, but here the simply stunningly beautiful Doody shows acting promise that she was not permitted in her minor role as an assassin in the 007 picture. No doubt her performance here played a part in her getting the lead female role in the third Indiana Jones movie the following year.