A triple murder in a Russian park looks like the work of one man -- but can the police prove it?
I wanted to like this film a lot and give it a good review. It has a different setting, a classic book to work with and plenty of good actors -- including Lee Marvin in his last major role.
However it fails on many levels. For a start the plot doesn't hold much water. William Hurt is very good as a Russian policeman earning next to nothing and living in a country where graft is a way of life. The work revolves around getting your head down and getting on with it.
The acting is uneven with some actors using their original accents and some cod Russian ones. Talk about not singing from the same hymn sheet!
The worst part is that the thing is that we are not thrilled -- the plot only points one way and that is towards the main suspect.
Plenty of people praise the book and maybe one day I'll read it and try and find out why this film was made. But life in Russian (although things have moved on) looks cold, grim and almost unbearable. Even when you have dollars to buy stuff on the black market.
Another film that has to go down as a failure -- but just about carries you through to the end.
I wanted to like this film a lot and give it a good review. It has a different setting, a classic book to work with and plenty of good actors -- including Lee Marvin in his last major role.
However it fails on many levels. For a start the plot doesn't hold much water. William Hurt is very good as a Russian policeman earning next to nothing and living in a country where graft is a way of life. The work revolves around getting your head down and getting on with it.
The acting is uneven with some actors using their original accents and some cod Russian ones. Talk about not singing from the same hymn sheet!
The worst part is that the thing is that we are not thrilled -- the plot only points one way and that is towards the main suspect.
Plenty of people praise the book and maybe one day I'll read it and try and find out why this film was made. But life in Russian (although things have moved on) looks cold, grim and almost unbearable. Even when you have dollars to buy stuff on the black market.
Another film that has to go down as a failure -- but just about carries you through to the end.