Review #919: 'Child 44' (2015)

The idea of a thriller/murder mystery set in the 1950's Soviet Union, where to be accused is to be found guilty and the majority of the population live in state of constant paranoia, starring such acting powerhouses as Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, Gary Oldman, Paddy Considine and Jason Clarke, who have all starred in some damn fine movies over the past few years, would make one assume they were in for a guaranteed masterpiece. Based on Tom Rob Smith's 2008 novel, the first of a trilogy, Child 44 the film is overstuffed with disconnected sub-plots, mud-brown grimness, rushed storytelling. and a smorgasbord of thick Russian accents delivered by a mostly European from a variety of countries apart from Russia.

Beginning in a war-town Ukraine where starvation has wiped out a bulk of the population, young Leo Demidov (Hardy) escapes an orphanage and into the arms of a sympathetic soldier, who adopts him and gives him a home. Years later, and Leo is a war hero, having his picture taken raising the flag of the U.S.S.R. over Berlin, and has a beautiful wife in Raisa (Rapace). While the country lives in fear, Leo and his comrades dine in fine restaurants. He is an obedient soldier, hunting down and capturing suspected traitor Anatoly (Clarke), but also shows restraint and empathy in his work, trying to convince Anatoly to confess to escape his inevitable torture and execution, and dressing down fellow soldier Vasili (Joel Kinnaman), a known coward from the war, when he executes a peasant couple in cold blood.

Vasili, who rises through the ranks to become understudy to Major Kuzmin (Vincent Cassel), becomes Leo's nemesis. When Leo is called in to investigate a gang of citizens suspected of working against the state, Raisa is implicated, possibly by Vasili as a grudge against the man who humiliated him in the field. Leo must face a choice of giving up the woman he genuinely loves, or handing her over and maintaining his social position. Meanwhile, the child of one of Leo's friends is murdered, and may possibly be connected to other murders that have happened in the vicinity. But the higher-ups fails to acknowledge the murders, as serial killers can only be the product of capitalism, and there are no murders in paradise. Leo, refusing to hand his wife over, is sent to take a demeaning position in Volsk, operating under the command of General Nesterov (Oldman), where more bodies are found.

Child 44 has all the ingredients for an intense whodunit and character study from a time and place rarely depicted by mainstream cinema. I haven't read Smith's book, but judging from the critical praise and awards lavished upon it, director Daniel Espinosa, best known for action fare Easy Money (2010) and Safe House (2012), seems to have only skimmed the back cover, forgetting to add anything resembling tension or believable character development. 2006's German masterpiece The Lives of Others created an overwhelming sense of fear and paranoia within its characters, but Espinosa seems to be more invested in rushing his way through the plot to get to an end that is in no way satisfying. The performances, despite being burdened with thick Russian accents (though the cast generally stay on the right side of those Compare the Meerkat adverts), are solid, although Oldman and Considine are wasted. At 137 minutes, the film feels long when it should feel short, and you get the idea that this may have worked better as a mini-series, where better care could have been taken to tell the story with the patience it deserved.


Directed by: Daniel Espinosa
Starring: Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman, Vincent Cassel, Paddy Considine, Jason Clarke
Country: USA/UK/Czech Republic/Romania/Russia

Rating: **

Tom Gillespie