Locke

 

Written and directed by Steven Knight, Locke is the story of a man driving on his way home where he’s having phone conversations with other people as it lead to events that would threaten everything including his family. The film is a psychological drama that takes place entirely in a car where a man is dealing with these phone conversations as he’s trying to get home as the character of Ivan Locke is played by Tom Hardy. Featuring the voices of Ruth Wilson, Andrew Scott, Tom Holland, Ben Daniels, Bill Milner, and Olivia Colman. Locke is a gripping and mesmerizing film from Steven Knight.

Set almost entirely on a highway in a car where a man is coming home, the film revolves Ivan Locke as he talks with various people where his life starts to shatter by not just events around him but also things that would threaten his own career as a contractor. It is a film with a simple premise where a lot of it has Ivan Locke returning home from work as he talks to his wife, his two teenage sons, co-workers, and other people as things start to unravel during the course of an entire night as he is on a highway driving home. Even as he is on a highway driving where he also copes with the invisible ghost that is his father whom he’s had a tense relationship with as it adds to the drama. There are a lot of monologues and such that writer/director Steven Knight has written as well as a lot of dialogue that play into the dramatic tension as it adds to Ivan’s own plight.

Knight’s direction does have some style as it opens with Ivan overlooking a construction site, taking off his boots, and entering his car as it’s one of the rare shots of the film of Ivan outside of the car as his face isn’t shown. Shot on the M6 motorway from the middle of England to the borders of Scotland, Knight does use some wide shots to get a look into the locations yet much of the direction emphasizes on close-ups and medium shots to play into the action in and out of the car with cars passing by. Notably as there’s cameras in certain areas in and around the car that focuses on Ivan’s conversations on the phone as there is always a shot of a computer screen in the car’s dashboard. The car, that is the BMW X5, is a character in the film as it play into Ivan’s own sense of isolation as his life would unravel through each phone call whether it is his sons calling him about the football game, co-workers talking about an upcoming concrete pour, and other issues through the span of nearly the film’s 85-minute running time. Overall, Knight crafts a riveting and evocative film about a man coming home as he’s on the road having phone conversation as his life unravels.

Cinematographer Harris Zambarloukous does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography as its usage of low-key lights for scenes in the car and available light from other cars add to the tense atmosphere of the film. Editor Justine Wright does amazing work with the editing with the stylish usage of superimposed dissolves and jump-cuts to play into the rhythm of the drive and the drama that unfolds in the car. Costume designer Nigel Egerton does terrific work with the costumes from the sweater and shirt that Ivan wears as it play into a man who is of great importance but also falling apart. Hair/makeup designer Audrey Doyle does nice work with the look of Ivan as he becomes disheveled during the course of the film as his life starts to unravel.

Visual effects supervisor James Devlin does fantastic work with the visual effects as it is largely minimal bits as backdrops and such for a few of the scenes on the road. Sound designer Ian Wilson does excellent work with the sound in capturing the sounds on the road as well as the way phone conversations are presented. The film’s music by Dickon Hinchliffe is superb for its dream-like guitar work and bits of ambient synthesizer to play into the intensity of the drama.

The casting by Shaheen Baig is wonderful as it features the voice work of Alice Lowe and Silas Carson as a couple of people working at a hospital, Kirsty Dillon as the wife of one of Ivan’s co-workers, Lee Ross as a police official, Danny Webb as a political official, Ben Daniels as a co-worker of Ivan in Gareth, and Andrew Scott as Ivan’s assistant Donal who is trying to help Ivan with all of the shit that needs to be sorted out. Tom Holland and Bill Milner are excellent in their respective roles as the voices of Ivan’s sons in Eddie and Sean who are calling their father over a football game as well as the family drama that is unfolding. Ruth Wilson is brilliant as the voice of Ivan’s wife Katrina who receives some horrific news that acts as a source of chaos between her and Ivan. Olivia Colman is amazing as the voice of Bethan as a woman Ivan knows as she has news of her own that would add to Ivan’s unraveling world.

Finally, there’s Tom Hardy in a phenomenal performance as Ivan Locke as a contractor who is driving home as he calls many on his car phone where Hardy is restrained in some parts as well as getting upset that include these invisible conversations with his late father. It is Hardy in one of his great performance as a man that is trying to deal with the chaos of his life as well as cope with his own faults as it is just intoxicating to watch.

Locke is a sensational film from Steven Knight that features an incredible performance from Tom Hardy. Along with its ensemble voice cast, ravishing visuals, an eerie music score, and a simple yet chilling premise. The film is definitely a mesmerizing suspense-drama that follows a man driving home as he deals with phone calls where he copes with events in his life as they would unravel in the span of an entire night. In the end, Locke is a phenomenal film from Steven Knight.

© thevoid99 2021

Pawn Sacrifice

Directed by Edward Zwick and screenplay by Steven Knight from a story by Knight, Stephen J. Revele, and Christopher Wilkinson, Pawn Sacrifice is the story about the legendary 1972 chess match between the American chess champion Bobby Fischer against the Soviet Union’s Boris Spassky at Reykjavik, Iceland. The film is a dramatic account of the match as well as a look into the early life of Bobby Fischer who was considered a prodigy as he’s played by Tobey Maguire with Liev Schreiber as Spassky. Also starring Lily Rabe, Michael Stuhlbarg, Robin Weigert, and Peter Sarsgaard. Pawn Sacrifice is a compelling and haunting film from Edward Zwick.

The film follows the life of American chess champion Bobby Fischer as he is to face the Soviet Union’s grandmaster Boris Spassky in a game to determine who the world’s best in the game of chess is. Steven Knight’s screenplay doesn’t just follow Fischer’s early life as a young boy obsessed with the game to the point that he would be the youngest grandmaster in American chess but also considered the most gifted player of his generation. Yet, Fischer’s obsession would also lead to his own mental deterioration as much of the film’s narrative takes place during the 1960s to the climatic 1972 world championship match against Spassky in Reykjavik, Iceland. During the course of the film, Fischer would call in former chess champion in Father William Lombardy (Peter Sarsgaard) to accompany him as his second and an attorney in Paul Marshall (Michael Stuhlbarg) to handle his business dealings as well as Fischer’s demands.

While Fischer would play several of the Soviet’s top chess grandmasters, he wants to face Spassky as his attempt to confront him during the Soviets’ visit to Santa Monica falters due to his paranoia as would another attempt at match in Europe. Upon choosing Iceland, Fischer almost never shows up because of the press coverage and he becomes more unhinged during the first game due to the sounds of the camera and the sound of a crowd watching the game. The script showcases that sense of paranoia where Fischer’s older sister Joan (Lily Rabe) tells Marshall to have her brother be sent to a hospital for evaluation where he’s already gaining delusions of grandeur and claims that the Soviets and the Jews are after him which baffles Marshall who knows that Fischer is Jewish. The script does have some faults as it relates to its sense of time with the exception of the second half as it relates to the match in Iceland though there are some historical errors in which Marshall claims to represent Jimi Hendrix only two years before Hendrix had even released an album.

Edward Zwick’s direction does have bits of style in terms of the way he would present television coverage of the Fischer-Spassky match yet would maintain something very straightforward for the rest of the film. Shot mainly in Montreal for the scenes set in Brooklyn, New York and other parts of the city with the scenes of the Fischer-Spassky match shot on actual location in Reykjavik, Iceland and scenes shot in Los Angeles. Zwick would capture a period in time where so much is happening yet Fischer lives in a world that is simpler away from Vietnam, Flower Power, and popular music as he is also more concerned with playing chess in the park or at chess clubs with other chess players. Much of the direction has Zwick favor more intimate shots in the close-ups and medium shots as it play into Fischer’s growing sense of paranoia while there are some wide shots of some of the locations.

The usage of TV footage of various interviews that Fischer gave during the height of his fame is sort of re-created to showcase the sense of enjoyment he has but also his growing disconnect with reality. Even in the climatic series of chess matches against Spassky where it’s got an intimacy in the direction and compositions as it play into Fischer’s own sense of paranoia and the need to get into Spassky’s head. Overall, Zwick crafts a compelling and fascinating film about the real-life chess match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky and the events that lead to this event.

Cinematographer Bradford Young does brilliant work with the cinematography in the look of the exteriors with its usage of low-key blue and green for the scenes in day and night as well as the usage of low-key colors for the interior scenes. Editor Steven Rosenblum does excellent work with the editing as it has some stylish montages into Fischer’s ascent into the world of chess as well as some rhythmic cuts to play into the methodical approach of the chess players in their movements on the board. Production designer Isabelle Guay, with head set decorator Paul Hotte plus art directors Jean-Pierre Paquet and Robert Parle, does amazing work with the sets from the motel in Santa Monica where Fischer and his small entourage live in to the Brooklyn apartment that is his home as well as the house he would live in Reykjavik. Costume designer Renee April does fantastic work with the costumes as it is mainly straightforward in contrast to the period that the characters are in as they mainly wear suits with the exception of Father Lombardy and some of the female characters in the film.

Visual effects supervisor Alan Munro does terrific work with the look of the old TV footage and how the actors are integrated into the old footage as well as some set-dressing for some of the locations. Sound designer Lon Bender does superb work with the sound as it play into the sense of paranoia in Fischer over the things he claims to hear as well as the atmosphere of some of the places that he plays at. The film’s music by James Newton Howard is wonderful as it is this low-key orchestral score that play into the drama as well as some of the suspense as it relates to Fischer’s paranoia while music supervisor Steven Rosenblum provide a soundtrack that play into the time period with contributions from the Spencer Davis Group, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jefferson Airplane, Carl Perkins, the Ventures, Al Green, and the Doobie Brothers.

The casting by Andrea Kenyon, Victoria Thomas, and Randi Wells is incredible as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Evelyne Brochu as a young woman that Fischer meets and befriends at Santa Monica, Conrad Pla as Fischer’s chess teacher Carmine Nigro, Sophie Nelisse as the young Joan Fischer, Aiden Lovekamp as the young Fischer, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick as the teenage Fischer, Brett Watson as the chief arbiter Lothar Schmid for the Fischer-Spassky match, and Robin Weigart as Fischer’s mother Regina who is estranged from her son due to her Socialist views as she wants to be there for him but finds herself continuously pushed away. Lily Rabe is fantastic as Fischer’s sister Joan as a woman who is concerned about her brother’s mental health as she is aware of the things he says where she knows he’s losing it. Michael Stuhlbarg is excellent as Paul Marshall as an attorney who would become Fischer’s agent in ensuring that Fischer gets paid and be given certain demands as he also deals with Fischer’s erratic behavior.

Peter Sarsgaard is brilliant as Father William Lombardy as a former chess champion turned priest who becomes Fischer’s second and closest ally who also watches what is happening to Fischer as he is aware of the mad obsession Fischer has for the game. Liev Schreiber is amazing as Boris Spassky as the Soviet grandmaster who is the epitome of cool as someone that is good at chess while knowing what Fischer is trying to do where he also succumbs to his own bit of paranoia. Finally, there’s Tobey Maguire in a phenomenal performance as Bobby Fischer as the famed chess prodigy who was considered the greatest chess player in the United States as he wants to defeat Spassky in the hope he can be the best while succumbing to his own paranoia and delusions that would lead to his mental deterioration where Maguire displays that anguish and despair in that man.

Pawn Sacrifice is a marvelous film from Edward Zwick that features a great performance from Tobey Maguire. Along with its supporting cast and a look into the events that lead to the legendary chess match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. It’s a film that showcases a man and his obsession to be the best that would eventually cost him his mind. In the end, Pawn Sacrifice is a remarkable film from Edward Zwick.

Edward Zwick Films: (About Last Night) – (Glory (1989 film)) – (Leaving Normal) – (Legends of the Fall) – (Courage Under Fire) – (The Siege) – (The Last Samurai) – (Blood Diamond) – (Defiance (2008 film)) – (Love & Other Drugs) – (Jack Reacher: Never Go Back)

© thevoid99 2017

Dirty Pretty Things

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 7/7/07 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Directed by Stephen Frears and written by Steven Knight, Dirty Pretty Things tells the story of a Nigerian doctor who drives a cab by day and works at a hotel at night. His best friend is a Turkish immigrant who is trying to evade the immigration services while working odd jobs. When he learns about a secret operation over kidney sales from immigrants in exchange for passports, he is in shock over what is happening and what is at stake. The film is an exploration into the world of black market operations where people sell body parts for money and passports as it is set entirely in London. Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Audrey Tautou, Sophie Okonedo, Benedict Wong, and Sergi Lopez. Dirty Pretty Things is a suspenseful yet harrowing film from Stephen Frears.

The film is an exploration into the world of black markets where illegal immigrants are forced to swap kidneys to gain passports so they can work in London. Yet, it revolves on a Nigerian immigrant in Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a German doorman in Ivan (Zlatko Buric), a hooker named Juliette (Sophie Okonedo), and a Turkish maid named Senay (Audrey Tautou) whom he's roommates with as they work in a hotel run by Juan (Sergi Lopez). Upon finding a human heart in a toilet, Okwe learns that there is something going on in the hotels as Senay is being targeted by immigrant officials for being an illegal immigrant. With Okwe trying to help her, his past as a doctor who worked for the Nigerian government comes back to haunt him as he learns about who is running the black markets operation as it plays into this complicated world where people have to survive and live a better life without trouble from the law or from people who are more concerned than profit than human lives.

All of which explores a world that is very dark as Steven Knight's screenplay relies on the structure of suspense as the momentum is built on what's going to happen. The script is really the film's high point in creating characters who aren't stereotypes and such but real people as there's also an unconventional love story of sorts between Okwe and Senay even though they aren't lovers.  It adds to something that makes the story feel different in terms of what is expected in a genre film like this while it is clear that the characters in the film are quite flawed.  It's often due to the fact that they're driven by the instinct to survive through dire means in a world that doesn't treat immigrants very lightly as Knight's script showcases a part of London that is diverse but also quite chaotic.

Stephen Frears' direction is top notch in creating suspense and intrigue for the story. While it's a bit flawed due to the pacing early in the film, it does pay off with the way it builds momentum as well as the question of morality. Notably, the character of Okwe who is definitely the conscious of sorts in the film which is kind of rare for a protagonist. Even as he is surrounded by a strange group of people including a laid-back hooker, a philosophical doctor, a lively doorman, and Senay. Senay is also interesting since she's a character who has a dream but is often clashing with reality as she realizes how far she has to go. Overall, it's Frears' observant yet stagy direction that creates a very solid drama.

Cinematographer Chris Menges brings a variety of looks to the film from the grayish, desolate look of the film's exterior sequences, notably the immigration, ethnic communities as well as the film interiors. To the more stylish, staged lighting in the film's hotel interior scenes which adds style to the film's unique look. Production designer Hugo Luczyc-Wyhowski and art director Rebecca Holmes create a unique look to the film's locations from the working-class, colorful look in the immigration slums to the polished, posh look of the hotel rooms and hotel lobby. Costume designer Odile Dicks-Mireaux create a nice look to the hotel suits that Juan, Okwe, and Ivan wears as well as the clothes that Juliette wears that isn’t overly revealing or vastly conservative.

Editor Mick Audsley does some excellent work in the film's editing to create suspense and terror that is expected in a genre like a thriller. Yet, Audsley's editing works to convey the manic energy that happens during the third act. Sound editors Mark Auguste and Peter Joly help create suspense with the film's sounds from the cars outside to the noise of the slums with the people surrounding the place. Music composer Nathan Larson creates a chilling score that just doesn't play to the film's suspense but also the drama with collages of guitar melodies and keyboards. The soundtrack mostly consists of Larson's score plus Turkish folk music and a song by David Byrne, formerly of the Talking Heads.

The film's cast is wonderfully assembled, notably for the fact that it's very diverse with people who aren't mostly English actors but rather people from other countries or a certain ethnicity. Smaller roles ranging from Darrell D'Silva as an immigration officer, Kehan Hudaverdi as a cafe` owner, and Barber Ali as the sweatshop owner are memorable in their performances. Benedict Wong is good as Guo Yi, Okwe's hospital friend who often talks forms of philosophy including chess and how the roles of life are often played. Zlatko Buric is brilliant as the comical Ivan who often talks about the good things that are in the hotel world while trying to protect his friends from immigration officers. Sophie Okonedo is good as the hooker Juliette who often flirts with Okwe while letting him know that there's things in the hotel that aren't right as she ends up helping him in his crisis of conscious.

Spanish actor Sergi Lopez is wonderful as Juan aka Sneaky. Lopez doesn't act like a conventional villain but rather a man who believes what he's doing is good, not just for himself but also the people whose lives he claims are saving. It's a wonderfully diabolical role from Lopez who brings charm and wittiness to his character. French actress Audrey Tautou, known for her work with Jean-Pierre Jeunet, is wonderful as Senay. Tautou is amazing in capturing Senay's desires to live a different world while dealing with the realities of what it takes to live a new life. It's a brilliant performance for the French actress who makes her English-language debut in the film as she proves that she can play characters that are dark as opposed to something as light-hearted as in Amelie. Finally, there's Chiwetel Ejiofor in a brilliant performance as the moralistic Okwe. Ejiofor gives a performance that isn't overly dramatic but rather subtle in how he observes everything around him and how tries to do what's right. Though he does wrong in taking stimulants and not being open, it's because his character is trying to evade secrets that won't expose him to authorities as it is Ejiofor at his best.

Dirty Pretty Things is a phenomenal film from Stephen Frears that features great performances from Chiwetel Ejiofor, Audrey Tautou, and Sergi Lopez. The film is definitely one of Frears' finest films in terms of its suspense and exploration into characters in the situations they're in. Especially as it focuses on people who are on the fringes of society as it is told with great respect by screenwriter Steven Knight. In the end, Dirty Pretty Things is a remarkable film from Stephen Frears.

Stephen Frears Films: (Gumshoe) - (Afternoon Off) - (Bloody Kids) - (Walter) - (Walter and June) - (December Flower) - (The Hit (1984 film)) - (My Beautiful Launderette) - (Prick Up Your Ears) - (Mr. Jolly Lives Next Door) - (Sammie and Rose Get Laid) - (The Grifters) - (Hero (1992 film)) - (The Snapper) - (Mary Reilly) - (The Van (1996 film)) - (The Hi-Lo Country) - (High Fidelity) - (Liam) - (Fail-Safe (2000 TV film)) - (The Deal (2003 TV film)) - (Mrs. Henderson Presents) - The Queen (2006 film) - (Cheri) - (Tamara Drewe) - (Lay the Favorite) - (Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight) - Philomena

© thevoid99 2014

Eastern Promises

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 9/23/07 w/ Additional Edits.

2005's A History of Violence proved to be a surprise hit with not just critics but also filmgoers. Even from a director like David Cronenberg who was known for his dark, extreme films like Videodrome, Dead Ringers, and Crash. Topping several critics polls including Oscar nominations for its adapted screenplay and a Best Supporting Acting nod to William Hurt. It seems that David Cronenberg has finally made it to the mainstream. In 2007, Cronenberg re-teams with his star from A History of Violence, Viggo Mortensen for another dark film involving the Russian mob and a midwife entitled Eastern Promises.

Directed by David Cronenberg and written by Steven Knight, Eastern Promises tells the story about a London midwife who investigates the death of a young pregnant teen in connection with the Russian mob and its driver. The investigation continues while the driver begins to question his loyalties as the family he works for starts to crumble over the death and investigation. Also starring Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Vincent Cassel, Sinead Cusack, and Jerzy Skolimowski. Eastern Promises is a powerful yet eerie film from David Cronenberg.

When a young, pregnant 14-year old girl named Tatiana (Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse) is taken to a hospital, she gives birth to a baby girl. The midwife named Anna (Naomi Watts) finds a diary that belonged to Tatiana as its written in Russian. With her Russian uncle Stepan (Jerzy Skolimowski) having the knowledge to translate the diary, Anna isn't sure what to do as she turns to her uncle and mother Helen (Sinead Cusack). Anna finds a card in the diary that leads to a Trans-Siberian restaurant owned by a man named Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl). Semyon invites her to his restaurant as she asks him to translate the contents in the diary. While leaving, she runs into Semyon's son Kirill (Vincent Cassel) and his driver Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen).

Though Semyon's restaurant is a nice place for the Russian community in London, Semyon uses it as a disguise for his own mob family as trouble emerges involvinga Chechen family. When Kirill and Nikolai meet with Azmin (Mina E. Mina), they find the body of Soyka (Aleksander Mikic) that belonged to the other family. After disposing the body with help from Nikolai's professional work, the body is later found by a detective named Yuri (Donald Sumpter) with a message. Naming the baby Christine, Anna starts to get more information from Semyon about the contents of the diary while she starts to befriend Nikolai, who drops her off when her motorcycle falters. When Stepan reveals the contents of the diary, dark secrets involving Semyon and Kirill are unveiled as in an earlier meeting with Semyon, she is asked to return the diary.

When Nikolai is sent to pick up the diary, he warns Anna, Helen, and Stepan about what they're doing. With Semyon having problems with the volatile Kirill over the killing of Soyka, he turns to Nikolai for all the information and such. Nikolai decides to meet with Anna to return her fixed motorcycle and the address of Tatiana's parents. With Semyon realizing that Anna's uncle Stepan knows too much, he asks Nikolai to take care of the problem in order to become an official member of the mob. Even as the Chechen mob is wanting the head of Kirill for what happened to Soyka as things start to get worse. With Nikolai starting to rise up with Semyon favoring him over Kirill, secrets starts to unravel as Nikolai turns to Anna for some truth as she wants to know what is going to happen with Christine.

While the film is partially a crime drama, the genre is given a new perspective from screenwriter Steve Knight and director David Cronenberg. While the London underworld that involves different ethnic communities is nothing new for Knight whose screenplay for Stephen Frears' Dirty Pretty Things was a stark exploration of black markets. Knight's script for this film definitely goes inside the Russian mob which isn't like other mobs or mafia families. The operation is more low-key while their approach to violence is far more brutal. In reality, the film is about a midwife who enters into an underworld that she finds herself trapped only to find an unlikely ally in a sympathetic member of that mob.

Knight's intelligent script is wonderfully structured and filled with some humorous dialogue. Yet, it's all David Cronenberg in his eerie, observant, and stylized direction. While it doesn't have some of the strange, horror-like sense of humor of earlier films, Cronenberg's exploration of the mob and London shows the diverse community. For the story, Cronenberg doesn't go into full-on dramatic style that's expected in a lot of mainstream features. Instead, the performances are subtle from most characters to show the layers and complexity of their personalities. Even the use of narration from the perspective of Tatiana (voiced by Tatiana Maslany) works as a wonderful dramatic device to the plot. With the suspense, Cronenberg uses the momentum in underplaying what's going to happen and go for something that's unexpected.

One sequence that is shocking is a fight scene that is intense and brutal in a way that only Cronenberg can stage and capture perfectly. Cronenberg's take on violence is stylized yet confrontational since he doesn't underplay or exaggerate what happens. The violence is part of his niche as a director that fans of his earlier films will definitely appreciate. Yet, some audiences will definitely squirm at what he shows only because he wants to reveal the brutality and motivation of what is going on. Still, the film shows that Cronenberg remains on top of his game in being a storyteller.

Longtime cinematographer Peter Suschitzky creates a wonderful look to the film's lighting in both exterior nighttime sequences and the interiors in the Russian restaurant scenes that are very low-key, intimate, and with little color to emphasize the dark tone of the film. Longtime production designer Carol Spier with art directors Rebecca Holmes and Nick Palmer definitely bring life to the Russian restaurant with dark colors, exotic foods, and decorations that makes the film feel very different from the rest of the London locations. Costume designer Denise Cronenberg also plays to the Russian feel with the dresses of young girls, hooker's clothing, and the suit of Nikolai that is almost similar to the look Ed Harris had in Cronenberg’s previous film, A History of Violence.

Longtime editor Ronald Sanders brings some nice cutting to the film that includes that amazing fight sequence as it doesn't move too fast or too slow but works to emphasize its intensity. The pacing also works to create the suspense and tension of the drama to play its dark tone. Sound editor Michael O'Farrell and recordist Stuart Wilson do excellent work in playing to the film's violence and suspense to help bring terror to the audience. Longtime composer Howard Shore's hypnotic score is filled with wonderful arrangements including a Russian-style violin to play the drama in Tatiana's narration as it adds the sense loss to that character.

The casting is unique and memorable with characters and performance that stands out including Mina E. Mina as the barber Azim, Josef Atim as his mentally-challenged nephew Ekrem, Aleksander Mikic, Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse as Tatiana, Shannon-Fleur Roux as Kirill's daughter Maria, and Alice Henley as a hooker who is forced to take part in an initiation for Nikolai. Donald Sumpter has a memorable small role as a detective who hopes to take down Semyon while Sinead Cusack is great as Anna's cautious mother who believes Anna just went into a world that she shouldn't have stumbled to. Jerzy Skolimowski is great as Anna's uncle Stepan who makes some bad comments, always say some things that will antagonize anyone including Nikolai.

Vincent Cassel is great as the crazy, volatile Kirill who despite some of his antics and how he tries to push Nikolai. There's depth to Cassel's performance as a man who tries to win his father's love only to fall into his own failings while finding comfort in Nikolai. Armin Mueller-Stahl is great as the shady, charming Semyon who acts like a sweet, grandfather-like character but also has a violent, dark side when he confronts Kirill while his own actions just brings layers to Mueller-Stahl's performance.

Naomi Watts is amazing as Anna, a woman who tries to find truth into a young girl's relationship only realizing where’s she’s going. Watts brings a mix of subtlety and restraint to her performance that is very powerful as she drives the film’s plot and getting people to try and figure out what’s going on. It's an amazing performance from the actress who often gives a performance that is amazing to watch. Viggo Mortensen is truly the film's best performance as Nikolai. Sporting a Russian accent that works, Mortensen brings wit, charm, and a sinister quality that is complex in whether he's really bad or really good. The anti-hero approach of his character and performance is one that is both shocking and endearing as his scenes with Watts are masterfully acted while he does things like taking a cigarette out with his tongue or the fight scene has proved that he’s a powerhouse actor.

While not as powerful as A History of Violence or other films, Eastern Promises is still a wonderfully complex, explosive, and harrowing drama from David Cronenberg and company. Fans of the director will no doubt enjoy his take on crime drama as well as his brutal take on the violence. Fans of the crime genre will love to see the fresh take and eerie tone Cronenberg and screenwriter Steve Knight has given in its exploration of the London underworld. With top-notch performances from Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, and Armin Mueller-Stahl, it's a film that will no doubt be given some recognition come Oscar time. In the end, for an intelligent film that's well-acted and masterfully directed, Eastern Promises by David Cronenberg is a film more than worth seeing.

David Cronenberg Films: Stereo - Crimes of the Future - Shivers - Rabid - Fast Company - The Brood - Scanners - Videodrome - The Dead Zone - The Fly (1986 film) - Dead Ringers - Naked Lunch - M. Butterfly - Crash - eXistenZ - Spider - A History of Violence - A Dangerous Method - Cosmopolis - Maps to the Stars - Crimes of the Future (2022 film)

The Auteurs #26: David Cronenberg Pt 1 - Pt. 2

© thevoid99 2011