While Russia’s shortsighted ban on Child 44 for ‘distortion of historical facts’ cannot be condoned, at least its saves its audience from the displeasure of viewing a dense ‘thriller’ where the long list of talented American and European actors speak in thick Russian accents for over two hours.

I say ‘thriller’, because this dreary film based on the bestseller by Tom Rob Smith is about as thrilling as being stuck in Moscow during one of its infamous rush hours.

Child 44 is especially disappointing, because its plot -- based on the real convicted serial killer Andrei Chikatilo—has all the ingredients for a cracking film.

Set in Stalin’s Russia during the 1950s, Child 44 stars Tom Hardy (Leo Demidov) as an agent of Ministry of State Security (MGB). Our hero is a respected member of the secret police until he displeases the powers that be by siding with his wife Raisa Demidova (Noomi Rapace) against the establishment. Raisa, a school teacher, is accused of being a spy, but her husband will have none of it. Leo’s predicament is to the pleasure of his snakelike fellow agent Vasili (Joel Kinnaman) who is envious of Leo’s position and his relationship with Raisa.

Soon the couple is thrown to the wolves (metaphorically speaking), and Leo finds himself demoted and employed as an officer at an uninviting factory town. Here, the Demidovs find a kindred spirit in General Nesterov (Gary Oldman) who shares their passion for investigating a series of child murders that the government refuses to accept as anything other than accidents.

This stance seems especially odd in the face of piling evidence, but Child 44 explains that acknowledging a serial killer would have been very inconvenient for a government intent only on portraying Soviet Russia as a utopian nation.

In terms of narrative, Child 44 is like an unpalatable Borscht that carries an abundance of impurities. Adapting a complex book into a film is a challenge that requires sacrificing the many subplots for the sake of narrative flow, while at the same time staying true to the source material.

Unfortunately, Child 44 carries too many dull subplots that overwhelm the main storyline. What’s more, the audience isn’t rewarded with a satisfactory payoff for the numerous narrative threads, resulting in tedious viewing.

This is not only a misuse of a critically acclaimed novel, but a misuse of the wealth of acting talent on offer. Skilled actors such as Tom Hardy, Joel Kinnaman, and Gary Oldman are sadly wasted like bad caviar. Gary Oldman in particular, who shares some interesting scenes with Tom Hardy, disappears for a majority of the film.

To its credit, the cast works hard to deliver engaging performances. Tom Hardy in particular is at his menacing best. It is also appreciable for a Hollywood film to offer local accents rather than resort to British ones in a Russian film as is customary.

Had Child 44 employed a serviceable script, the grim picture painted by the production values would have been more welcome. The cinematography displays a sullen 1950s Russia, while the interesting score that features industrial sounds adds to the bleakness.

At odds with the pedestrian nature of the film is a fast-paced and jarringly edited violent finale. This is followed by an unintentionally hilarious mud wrestling scene where some of my fellow audience members chuckled in surprise.

Perhaps the laughter was evoked due to the poor nature of the scene, or perhaps it was merely the feeling of release after hours of torture.

Rating: R (for violence, some disturbing images, language and some explicit scenes)

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, April 26th, 2015

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