CHILD 44 (Daniel Espinosa)

Synopsis In 1950’s soviet a Russia a disgraced MGB agent hunts for a vicious serial killer. Book adaptations are tricky things to get right, for every Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings there’s a Golden Compass or Bonfire of the Vanities. The key to success is to know what to cut and what to keep and this, sadly, is a lesson that the makers of Child 44 seem not to have taken on board. Set in 1950’s Soviet Russia the film mostly deals with the efforts to bring a vicious child murderer (based on Andrei Chikatilo, the Rostov Ripper) to justice and how the investigation is hampered by the Soviet authorities. I say it’s mostly about that because a great deal of the film seems to preoccupy itself with a dozen other plot threads; from agent Leo Demidov’s (Tom Hardy ) troubled relationship with wife Raisa (Noomi Rapace) to his rivalry with an ambitious fellow agent (Joel Kinnaman). These plot threads dominate the first half hour of the film so much that when the murder investigation does start it feels like we’ve jumped into an entirely different film. Nor to be honest, and despite the best efforts of all the principal players, are these plots all that interesting , perhaps as the driving plots of films of their own they could carry a narrative ,but not here. This is a great shame because when the murder investigation does start the film finally starts to pick up pac ,the murderer himself (despite a faintly ridiculous backstory) is truly sinister as we see him stalk his victims as the audience longs for Hardy, aided by an underused Gary Oldman, to bring him to justice. The book Child 44 got very positive reviews, though I have not personally read it, but what works from the page is not the same as what works for the screen. A lesson that the film’s writers seem to have sadly forgotten. Final Verdict 5/10 An interesting setting, good performances are dragged down by a bloated plot.