Thursday, June 30, 2016

Child 44 (2015)

Director: Daniel Espinosa. Cast: Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Noomi Rapace, Joel Kinnaman, Jason Clarke, Paddy Considine, Vincent Cassel, Charles Dance. 137 min. Rated R. Czech Republic/UK/USA/Russia. Crime/Historical.

"Child 44", the novel, isn't a literary masterpiece, but makes good on story: the idea of "there is no murder in paradise" in Stalin's Soviet Union is so dominant, a spree of child murders goes untouched. But the story's center is a brother-brother relationship, which the movie hovers around in the most subtle undetectable ways, making the story arc meaningless, and rendering this one of the most disappointing film adaptations ever. We're left with some beautiful cinematography, some engaging production values, and an ensemble of some great actors (Hardy, Oldman, Rapace, Dance) who've become notorious for never winning an Oscar.

PS: ... although I am starting to have some reservations about Hardy.

Mo says:

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