When a book manages to sell more than a million copies worldwide, it’s prime for a movie adaptation and that’s exactly what happened with the first of Tom Rob Smith’s Stalin-era crime thriller trilogy, Child 44. The oppressive novel evokes the underbelly of Stalin’s myopic and often brutal state control and with Tom Hardy (Mad Max: Fury Road) in the lead role, alongside Gary Oldman and Paddy Consadine it initially looked like it may have been one to add to the cinema list for 2015. However, the movie has gone on to pick up mixed reviews, including our own, but unlike the Russian ministry of culture, we’d be keen for you to make up your own mind.
Release date
Child 44 hit the big screen in the UK on the 17th April 2015, after initially being slated for a release date of the 15th September 2014. There’s no word about why the delay, but it could be linked to the fact that the film has gone on to be banned in Russia, a move we’re none too keen on, as you can probably tell. It’s their decision, obviously, but come on children, let them eat cake, or whatever. Point is, there’s no real reason to ban it, and with reviews not exactly on the high star rating side of the fence it’s probably not that big a deal anyway. In the words of Bart Simpson, “don’t have a cow man!” Anyway, you know what we’re getting at.
DVD, Blu-ray and digital download release
Having already aired at the cinema, the film will be making its way to digital download in the UK on the 10th August 2015, followed by DVD and Blu-ray on the 24th August 2015.
Storyline
The plot takes place in 1953 in the thick of Stalin’s totalitarian regime as MGB agent Leo Domidov (Tom Hardy) does what he can to bring justice to the streets of Moscow despite the state dictum, “there is no murder in paradise,” which at the time was what they thought of the Soviet Union. However, when a child’s body is found dead his natural instinct is to investigate, but he’s quickly told by his superiors that there’s no crime to look into.
When he starts to dig a little deeper and uncover the potential of the grim killer behind the crime he faces a ruthless backlash from the state that tests his loyalty and goes on to see his life and that of his wife Raisa in jeopardy as she’s accused of being a traitor. Banished from the city and with another child found dead, Leo is left out on a limb with a slow build-up to a fight back again the injustice in the system as well as out on the dark streets of mother Russia.
Cast
In addition to Tom Hardy, the cast for the Child 44 film will include Noomi Rapace as Leo’s wife, Raisa, and Gary Oldman (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011)) as the state sanctioned git with a conscience, General Nesterov. Paddy Consadine (Submarine) plays the torturous murderer, Joel Kinnaman (The Darkest Hour, RoboCop (2014)) plays Domidov’s MGB nemesis and Vincent Cassel (Black Swan) his git of a boss. Jason Clarke (The Great Gatsby) gets riled up as a state traitor on the run and Charles Dance (who recently voiced the BBC’s trailer for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games) plays a high level official within the MGB.
Production
Sir Ridley Scott is one of three producers, alongside Greg Shapiro and Michael Schaefer, following on from Prometheus in 2012 and The Counselor in 2013. Daniel Espinosa, who worked with Kinnaman on Safe House, is the movie’s director, having taken charge of the team bring the dark novel to life on the big screen with a screenplay by Richard Price (The Color of Money, Mad Dog and Glory, Ransom), whose gritty style suited the movie.
Review
The Child 44 movie is a pretty grim release, following the original storyline of the Tom Rob Smith (The Farm) book of the same name, but sadly it doesn’t quite live up to expectations with lack-lustre performances from most of the cast. Tom Hardy is the only contradiction to this, putting in a lot of research and effort into the role, but it’s further let down by a slow seep in tension as the film comes to its close. You can check out our full review at www.tuppencemagazine.co.uk/child-44-movie-review/, big the long and short of it is that our hopes of it being something akin to a cross between Enemy at the Gates, Zodiac and Nineteen Eighty Four were sadly misplace.
