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“Child 44” (2015, Amazon Prime) mystery thriller film, loosely based on the case of Soviet serial killer Andrei Chikatilo or the 2008 novel (same title) by Tom Rob Smith. 



       Background per movie: During Joseph Stalin's rule of the Soviet Union in the early 1950s, Ministry of State Security (MGB) Agent and war hero Leo Demidov uncovered a strange and brutal series of child murders. However, MGB leadership refuses to acknowledge the deaths as murders because Soviet doctrine states that only capitalism creates serial killers. The son of Leo's partner is murdered by the serial killer and during Leo's investigation, his wife, Raisa, is accused of being disloyal to the state. Leo suspects that his amoral and ambitious enemy in the MGB, Vasili Nikitin, is behind the charges. Leo refuses to support the accusation and he is forced to take a demeaning militia position in the town of Volsk. Raisa accompanies him and must work as a janitor.

       It'd require steady attention to keep up with the film's narrative and the interconnecting political truths in those years. The central serial killer story is “easy” to follow but the drama and intrigue in/around the military officers pose some complications to simply comprehending the movie as a crime story. Yet as a crime thriller, the feature lacks “thrills” despite a kickass cast. 

      Tom Hardy as Leo and Noomi Rapace as Raisa, plus Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman, Jason Clarke, Vincent Cassel, and Paddy Considine as Vladimir Malevich (renamed Andrei Chikatilo). All of them speak in awkward Russian accents because they all portray Russians or Ukrainians (talking English). I am a bit uncomfortable with this cinematic device. But this movie was made by Hollywood or the West so! 

       Expectedly, “Child 44” ignited controversy in Russia and Ukraine, and neighboring Eastern European nations. The film was a box office bomb, grossing just $13 million against its $50 million budget. But was it a bad movie? Acting is fine. But Daniel Espinosa's directing lacks imagination, daring, and soul. The focus on the investigation is defocused by the supposed hugeness of the Russian military in 1950s Stalin (which was presented vaguely) and the soapy Leo/Raisa love story. 

       Mr Espinosa made a superhero movie in 2022, “Morbius,” which won him a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director. It'd seem “Child 44” as a film material is too heavy for Daniel to carry. 🎥💻📽

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