Saturday, September 22, 2007

Eastern Promises



Eastern Promises is a grisly account of violence in London involving an orphaned infant, a doctor, and the russian mafia.

Director David Cronenberg doesn't seem one to shy away from violence. In fact, his last film was titled A History of Violence. I thought that film started out well, but lost its way in its third act. I think Eastern Promises is solid throughout. Still, I had an overall lukewarm reaction to it.

After an eye-opener of a beginning, the film finds a young, pregnant girl dying in a hospital where Naomi Watt's (King Kong, 21 Grams) character, a doctor named Anna, saves the baby and loses the mother. She finds the girl's diary from which she hopes she can find a relative to take care of the baby. Trouble is, the diary is in Russian. Her search for a translator leads her to shady men at a shady restaurant. Whether she likes it or not, she soon becomes a part of the Russian mafia's dealings.

She meets a driver for the mob named Nikolai, played by Viggo Mortensen (The Lord of the Rings franchise). Though he seems dangerous, he stands out among the men he works for. When Anna gets closer to the truth, she gets closer to danger. And Nikolai may be the only one who gives a damn and can do something about it.

First off, this film is violent. Often, there is merely a threat of danger. However, there are parts drenched in violence. Cronenberg does not shy away from it. It is presented smack dab in the middle of the screen where it stares back at you. It is jarring. I admit, I was grossed out a little. But it is fake. It is a movie. I remembered.

Also, the violence fits with the story. There are bad men who do bad things. Sometimes good guys have to do bad things to stop bad men. Either way, blood is spilled.

Particularly memorable (for better or for worse) is a naked knife fight scene. Nikolai is cornered in a Russian bath house. During the struggle, his towel is lost and soon he is naked and wrestling, stabbing, and being stabbed. It is brutal.

I do not think I have to make excuses for the filmmakers, but one reason I thought this was justified (albeit disturbing for the audience) is that a person is never really as vulnerable as when he or she is naked. Nikolai is attacked when he does not have a weapon. That raises the stakes of what could have been a panic-inducing action scene in the movie. What raises the stakes even higher is that he is naked. There is nothing between Nikolai and the threats before him. He is utterly defenseless.

While it is difficult to empathise with a naked, forty-year old, Russian mobster in a bath house, I think back to some scary dreams when I waltzed into school naked. Scary, right? What if all the other students at my school were Russian mobsters out to get me? Scarier. So, instead of merely being panic-inducing, the scene is nail-biting, heart-exploding, and one-hand-over-your-eyes-looking-between-your-fingers intense. Necessary? I do not know. I do think that the scene accomplished exactly what the filmmakers wanted it to do.

Needless to say, Eastern Promises is not for those movie-goers trying to avoid blood or nudity when going out for a Friday night flick.

Like A History of Violence, Eastern Promises takes a major turn in its third act. Unlike A History of Violence, it does go down for the count because of a horrible performance from Oscar nominee William Hurt. It does, however, rely on some story elements that made what had been an unpredictable film predictable. While these story elements make the film more satisfying to the audience who expects such turns, their inclusion bothered me.

I was impressed both by Naomi Watts and Viggo Mortensen. Mortensen in particular has a difficult task of playing tough while pulling off a thick, Russian accent. I do not know any Russians, but I think I would be bothered if I did not believe his accent when I heard it. What helped is that his accent is as thick and as indecipherable at times as everyone else's in the film. It also helps that he fully commits to the role. Nikolai is a mystery man. His motives and loyalties are questionable thoughout the film, though it is primarily so because I could not tell why he was with the low-lifes he surrounded himself with when he seemed to have have a better head on his shoulders.

Naomi Watts, despite what turns into a supporting role midway through the film, delivers the best performance in the film. She is utterly believable even when constantly sticking her neck out into danger. She also plays her emotions well. Her character can be alternately vulnerable, courageous, angry, sad - basically a complicated woman.

If you can cringe repeatedly and still stick with a movie, Eastern Promises is worth a watch. I cannot, however, promise you will walk out of the movie theater thanking me I suggested you do so.

For those reading this on my blog: ask me what else I didn't like after you see the movie.

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