In Reply to: Child 44...Hardy, Oldman, Rapace, Castle...great cast... posted by Mark Man on April 16, 2015 at 10:10:24:
A very dark and dismal film almost devoid of sun light begins in '33 Ukraine where the young Hardy bolts from an orphanage to be taken in by some soldiers. Flash to the Reichstag in '45 to see Hardy fight his way through and attempt to place THE famous flag on top. It is here we meet the same crew of people who all end up working for state security in '53.
In Moscow Hardy marries Rapace and carries out some security missions that end with grisly results. The story goes long and tends to meander with Child 44 being the plot of which all the other stories orbit around. I'm not so sure the movie should have been named Child 44.
Production standards were superb, after all, Ridley was a producer. The acting good, nice spread of A list talent, but lacking in meaningful cohesiveness. Not having read the novel leaves me at a loss as to what was really important. Was the Child 44 investigation paramount or was it the dread, fearful life in post-war USSR?
One thing, you don't want to set your time machine for Russia during that era. No, sir.
I think one thing that counts against this film is its length. If it were shorter it would have been better at the cost of its dreadful atmosphere. Probably best seen on disk or cable.
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Follow Ups
- Gimme that Ol'Tyme Stalin . . . - Billy Wonka 18:30:34 04/17/15 (6)
- RE: Gimme that Ol'Tyme Stalin . . . - Eldragon 06:16:05 04/18/15 (5)
- "...the worms play pinochle on your snout..." * - Billy Wonka 10:10:25 04/18/15 (4)
- RE: whatever that means??? * - Eldragon 10:31:17 04/18/15 (3)
- Grammar school playground song....What happens when you are dead. * - Billy Wonka 11:24:57 04/19/15 (2)
- CORRECTION: The Hearse Song . . . - Billy Wonka 14:32:27 04/22/15 (1)
- RE:brings back an obscure memory... - user510 10:55:48 04/23/15 (0)