{"id":8637,"date":"2015-05-05T13:52:44","date_gmt":"2015-05-05T11:52:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/responsive.jozikids.co.za\/zaparents\/?p=8637"},"modified":"2022-09-03T14:13:33","modified_gmt":"2022-09-03T12:13:33","slug":"child-44-a-review-by-daniel-janks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/lifestyle\/movie-reviews\/child-44-a-review-by-daniel-janks\/","title":{"rendered":"Child 44 : A movie review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Director:\u00a0Daniel Espinosa
\nWriter: \u00a0Richard Price
\nCast:\u00a0Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Noomi Rapace<\/p>\n

AGE RESTRICTION: [R]<\/h2>\n

It’s dark and moody, but it’s not too gory or graphic.<\/p>\n

Bottom Line<\/h2>\n

Child 44 is a good film. It\u2019s a bit all over the place and tries to be too many things all at the same time. But it\u2019s a good, interesting, drama-serial killer-love story-historic-spy-noir-flik.<\/p>\n

Plot<\/h2>\n

Leo is a policeman in Soviet Russia in the 1950s. A decorated war hero he enjoys all the luxuries of the privileged few. But there\u2019s something rotten in the state of socialist communism, and the sinister tendrils of despair are slowly fastening a death grip around Leo\u2019s perfect life. When his friend\u2019s son is killed, and Leo makes the mistake of wanting to investigate the murder, the vice starts to tighten. The simplest and purest intentions quickly lead to the systematic destruction of Leo\u2019s entire life. But no matter where they send him, or what they do to him, Leo will stop at nothing to find the man who is killing children, and stop him.<\/p>\n

Child 44 is based on a book by Tom Rob Smith. And whereas in a book one can tell a story that delves into a plethora of themes, subjects and genres, films are generally better suited to a more singular focus. Child 44 tries to examine too many things. Soviet Socialist corruption and brutality, the truths and lies of a marriage built on illusion, one man\u2019s struggle for integrity in an evil world, nail biting suspense and intrigue, the dark fires that burn in tortured men\u2019s souls. Each on it\u2019s own would be a fascinating story. Two or three combined would make a great film. All of them together end up washing into each other and muddying the narrative waters to the point where the film is almost too lost in its own complexity to allow the audience in. I say almost, I enjoyed the film, I recommend it, but it\u2019s dangerously close to falling into the trap of having too much narrative and too little story.<\/p>\n

Acting<\/h2>\n

Leo, the lead character, is played by Tom Hardy. I frikken love Tom Hardy. I named my snake after Tom Hardy, literally. In my eyes he can do no wrong. And in Child 44 he doesn\u2019t disappoint. The film is not as powerful a vehicle for his talents as others he\u2019s chosen like Bronson, Locke, Warrior, The Dark Knight or ,hopefully, the upcoming Mad Max Fury Road. But he shines in the role and brings his usual mix of broody intensity and verisimilituic realism to the role. He is supported by a fantastic cast. The peripheral characters in the film are all fairly flimsy and half formed. But the like of Noomi Rapace, Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman\u00a0and Jason Clarke\u00a0manage to breathe life and sympathy into them.<\/p>\n

Directing and writing<\/h2>\n

The film is well handled by Daniel Espinosa. It has a solid pace, good character development and paints a fascinating picture of a dark and scary time and place in history. Despite it\u2019s too epic reach Espinoza manages to keep the film rooted in the interpersonal relationships between the characters, where all good films live and die. Despite its flaws it remains an engrossing tale of good and evil, right and wrong, and the struggle of a lone man against a world set on destroying him.<\/p>\n

So\u2026<\/h2>\n

See it. Enjoy it. Turn a blind eye to its failings and revel in its strengths.<\/p>\n

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