Child 44

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND

Never has the phrase "The whole is less than the sum of its parts" been more apt.

Child 44 is set in Stalin-era Soviet Russia where Leo Demidov, a World War Two hero played by Tom Hardy, now works as an agent within the Soviet secret police.  After an investigation into a criminal spy ring, his wife (played by Noomi Rapace) is named as a potential conspirator.  Instead of renouncing his wife, the Demidovs are banished to a freezing, horrible part of the country, where Leo stumbles upon a serial killer preying upon young boys, having killed 44 in the recent past.  But in the supposed-paradise of Stalin's Soviet Russia, there is no such thing as murder, so Leo must do his own secret investigation into who the serial killer is without the help of his former comrades.

Despite my best efforts to jazz up the main storyline, the true selling point of Child 44 is undoubtedly the cast.  It's plastered over every poster, billboard and standee that you see, and for good reason:

Tom Hardy,
      Gary Oldman, 
              Noomi Rapace,
                       Paddy Considine,
                                   Jason Clarke,
                                            Vincent Cassel,
                                                        Charles Dance.

That is a cast list that any film would be lucky to feature.  And any ordinary film would probably use these actors to the best of their ability; but Child 44 is no ordinary film.  Due to the grim subject matter, as well as the harsh time and setting, the film has an overwhelming bleak narrative that never really eases up.  It's running time of 137 minutes is way too long as I was finding myself wishing for the film to be over before it was. Whole sections of the film could have been easily taken out and the overall narrative would not have been affected.

Whilst the adapted book may handle the several other plots well and balance them evenly, the film seems to jumble them up into a bit of a confusing mess; a romance sub-plot gets touched upon and then is never resolved, leaving the viewer unfulfilled and whilst Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace get most of the screen time, I was praying for more Oldman, Considine, Clarke and Dance.  Their presence would have easily brightened up the dull, brown, murky boredom that is Child 44.

Whilst watching Child 44, I was reminded of The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen), a German film most famous for shocking most of the world and beating Pan's Labyrinth to the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 2006.  The Lives of Others told a similarly paranoid and depressing story of an agent of the East German Secret Police in the 1980s.  It mainly takes place in an apartment building as the agent overhears the lives of a couple he suspects are spies.  Yet despite the restricted locations and budget of the film, it painted a much larger and entertaining world than Child 44.  It allowed you to connect with the protagonist and feel his internal struggle dealing with an oppressive and tyrannical leadership.  I felt no sympathy towards Leo Demidov.  I felt no connection to his plight or no understanding of why he loved his wife.  I was just simply told he does.  It left me annoyed and unsatisfied, wanting to go home and watch The Lives Of Others instead.

Whilst Child 44 does attempt to take potshots at Stalin's Soviet Russia and the hypocritical dystopia it became, they are such safe shots; there is no attempt to be memorable or particularly vocal.  "Yeah, we know that the communist society broke down into a paranoid, depressing time! Thanks for reminding us!"  After a while, especially towards the end, Child 44 just becomes one big disappointment and one that is currently tanking at the box-office and I fully understand why.

I wouldn't waste your time with Child 44, especially if you want to just for the cast.  Ocean's Eleven has a great cast, go watch that instead!  You'll have a much better time, I promise!

Rating - 4/10

Until next time folks, thanks for reading!

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