Tom Hardy’s raw and forever impressive talent is easily the most watchable and enjoyable aspect of the film

Director: Daniel Espinosa 

Staring: Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman 

Running Time: 2 hrs 17 mins 

Rating: 15

Release Date: April 17th 

Daniel Espinosa‘s adaptation of Tom Rob Smith‘s Soviet Russian drama, CHILD 44, is easily one of the most frustrating films of the year so far; with the negative aspects cruelly outweighing some brilliant performances, beautiful camera work and gripping story lines. CHILD 44 tells the story of disgraced military police investigator Leo (Tom Hardy) and his involvement in the cover-up of some disturbing and vicious child murders in Russia during Stalin’s reign on the Soviet Union.  

Once at the top of his game, Leo’s world is turned upside down when his wife Raisa (Noomi Rapace) is accused of being a traitor to Russia and he refuses to denounce her. Leo and Raisa are sent away from Moscow to a deserted and destitute part of Russian, where Leo finds himself emotionally caught up the in the child murders that first occurred when they resided in Moscow. With the help of the towns General Mikhail Nesterov (Gary Oldman), Leo and Raisa fight for their own lives while desperately trying to track down the twisted killer. 

While this initial narrative is tense, interesting and highly addictive; its broken up with the weaving of separate story lines that unfortunately jar audiences attention enough to lose the full impact of the main story. With Leo and Raisa’s relationship explored thoroughly and a second villain in the form of the cold hearted Vasili (Joel Kinnaman), there is almost too much going on in Leo and Raisa’s lives and it completely distracts from the murderous drama at the forefront of the narrative.

This is an utter shame as individually, each narrative aspect could make an entirely thrilling storyline but together, it makes for a muddled and conflicting viewing experience. The relationship between Leo and Rasisa is brilliantly portrayed and hugely emotive, with some absolutely knock-out scenes of their fight for survival, the complications of their relationship and the sincerity of their love. 

Tom Hardy’s raw and forever impressive talent is easily the most watchable and enjoyable aspect of the film as a whole. His wonderfully subtle, expressive way of conveying emotion is truly marvellous and enables audiences to crumble at the despair of this initially hard to like character. Viewers soon find themselves fiercely on Leo’s side; a true testament to his talent and commitment to his role. Opposite him, Noomi Rapace plays a wonderfully fierce yet vulnerable, complex character and her chemistry with Hardy is both tender and explosive as their on-screen relationship evolves. 

Joel Kinnaman‘s baddie character overshadows the actual murderer, which is both impressive and disappointing. His performance is flawless but having invested so much time into fearing and loathing the child murderer, that when they’re eclipsed by Kinnaman’s talent at playing such a nasty, cold villain; it does feel a little disappointing. A fault on Espinsoa’s part and by no-means Kinnaman’s. That being said, the few scenes in which the killer features are wholly disturbing and indeed appropriately chilling.

Despite the great performances and quality of cinematography and mise-en-scene; issues such as the convoluted narrative, accent dropping and the complete underuse of Gary Oldman all add up to ensuring CHILD 44 lands in the frustrating ‘could have been great’ category. While the original source material might have this multi-strand narrative down to a fine art, it just doesn’t translate on the big screen; something that is most frustrating for viewers enticed by such a talented cast. 

Verdict

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