Film

The Samaritan

Name: The Samaritan
Genre: Thriller
Released: 2012
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Luke Kirby, Ruth Negga, Tom Wilkinson, A.C. Peterson

A grifter trying to go straight after two decades in prison meets a mysterious woman who might be his second chance—or his undoing. Samuel L. Jackson brings weary intensity to a crime thriller built on the tension between redemption and relapse. It's lean, tightly plotted, and grounded in the fatigue of people who know the life they're trying to escape.

TMDb rating

2.7

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like lean, grubby crime thrillers where the tension sits in a tired man's private calculations, and you don't mind a plot that trusts you to keep up.

Skip it if you want brisk pace or flashy set pieces, since this is a slow, talky thriller on a modest scale where the familiar beats are part of the point.

What it asks of you: Ninety minutes with room for quiet, watchful scenes, a tone that stays wry and wary rather than loud, and your full attention on who is lying to whom.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

In Good Company2004

A quieter story about an older man and a younger protégé navigating trust and ambition. Explores how experience and idealism collide, with genuine warmth beneath the surface tension and mutual wariness.

But The stakes are deliberately modest—it's a workplace drama, not a thriller, so it unfolds at a conversational pace that demands patience.

A Prophet2009

A masterclass in watching someone manipulate their way through a corrupt system. Shows the long game of survival and reinvention with precision and moral weight, never flinching from the cost of climbing out.

But It's French, subtitled, and nearly two and a half hours. The prison setting is bleak and the violence is unglamorous—it earns its intensity, which demands more from you than The Samaritan asks.

Rounders1998

Matt Damon and Ed Norton as men pulled back into a world they wanted to leave. The game is cards instead of grifting, but the rhythm of temptation and the illusion of control are identical. Smart, stylish, and propulsive.

But Poker isn't for everyone, and the film luxuriates in its technical details. If you find that world tedious, the film won't convert you.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Samaritan

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Brick2006

Both explore how people get trapped by the logic of a world they know. Foley can't escape being a grifter; the protagonist can't escape the noir code his world has taught him. Redemption isn't possible in either universe—only different ways of losing.

A high schooler investigates his ex-girlfriend's disappearance through the criminal underworld of their small California town. A noir transplanted into a teenage world—the same moral landscape, the same cynicism, the same doomed logic of escalation. Rian Johnson's directorial debut.

But The hard-boiled dialogue in a high school setting is intentional and divisive. Some find it brilliant; others find it precious and difficult to sit through.

Out of Sight1998

Steven Soderbergh and Elmore Leonard. A career criminal and a federal marshal, drawn to each other across a crime that binds them. Sexy, clever, and structured like a con—the narrative itself has layers.

But It prioritises style and character chemistry over plot momentum, so if you need constant forward motion, you'll find it meandering.

Hell or High Water2016

Two brothers rob banks to save their family ranch, pursued by a cop who understands them. A tense, elegantly structured thriller about desperation, legacy, and the price of doing what you think you must.

But The pacing is deliberately measured; it's a character study wearing a heist movie's clothes. Some find that restraint boring rather than suspenseful.

Miller's Crossing1990

The Coen Brothers' Prohibition-era thriller about a man caught between two mob bosses, playing angles and surviving by wit. Baroque dialogue, byzantine plotting, and a protagonist whose intelligence is his only real weapon.

But It's self-consciously stylized and theatrical. If you prefer naturalism, the heightened register and rapid-fire dialogue will feel artificial and exhausting.

The Killing2011

A murder case spirals through layers of corruption and institutional indifference. Gritty, methodical procedural that shows how past mistakes haunt people trying to build better lives. Sarah Lund is unforgettable.

But It's a full season commitment and deliberately paced—this is European television, not American procedural. The bleakness compounds episode to episode.

Thief1981

Michael Mann and James Caan. A master thief plans one last job, wants out, can't escape. Gorgeous neon-lit aesthetic and a precise study of professional expertise and emotional isolation. A prototype for everything Mann made afterward.

But Made in 1981, it feels deliberate and cold. If you're looking for warmth or humor, this won't deliver. The ending is bleak.

American Hustle2013

Con artists and the FBI dance through an intricate sting operation. Fast, funny, stacked with charisma, and genuinely clever about how people convince each other (and themselves) of lies.

But It's frothy and enjoys its own cleverness—some find that self-satisfaction off-putting. The plot matters less than the performance and style.

Before We Die2021

Like The Samaritan, it's about someone trying to hold onto integrity in a system designed to corrupt them. But where Foley is trying to escape his past, this detective is trying to protect her present from it. The shape is inverted.

A Swedish detective series about two teenage girls murdered; the investigation bleeds into the detective's family and marriage. Explores systemic corruption and how the past devours the present, with an investigator fighting institutions as much as criminals.

But Subtitled, Scandinavian, and genuinely dark. It doesn't resolve neatly and will not make you feel better. Six hours, so commitment required.

Long Day's Journey Into Night1962

The Samaritan is about whether someone can step outside their nature; this play is the absolute answer: no. The same question asked by Sophocles and O'Neill—what if change is impossible? The bleakness is complete and unsparing.

Eugene O'Neill's devastating family tragedy, a single day when four people in a Connecticut house confront the failures and dependencies that have hollowed them out. No plot, no redemption arc—just one family unable to escape each other or themselves. Spencer Tracy's final film.

But It's a literal stage play filmed. Nothing happens. If you need incident or resolution, this will feel like punishment. It's four hours of people talking about their disappointment.