2008 Woodie Awards
'Eastern Promises' reviewed
by Adam Asher
Issue date: 9/28/07 Section: Mosaic
"Eastern Promises"
Serendipity Point Films
Rating: 2 1/2 out of 4 stars
Viggo Mortensen is a man who chooses his roles carefully. To prepare for his role in "Eastern Promises," he spent several weeks in Russia without a translator in order to develop his accent and language skills. In addition, he studied Russian prison tattoos, which are a way of telling their life story and identifying themselves, while incarcerated in the former Soviet Union.
His research paid off.
In his newest film, Mortensen plays Nikolai, a driver for the Russian mob in London. Throughout the film, Nikolai speaks only in Russian and the occasional broken English while rising through the ranks of the family. He simultaneously becomes entangled with a local midwife (Naomi Watts), who threatens to expose a secret that could potentially dismantle the whole organization.
Character is the key to this film. When the audience first meets Nikolai, he's merely a driver for a gang whose dangerous reputation is illustrated in a brief, albeit extremely violent, murder scene. Mortensen is quiet and powerful in his portrayal of the gangster whose status is slowly elevated throughout the film.
Alongside Mortensen is Watts, whose passion for saving a baby and discovering the truth behind her existence leads her to become dangerously close with Mortensen's character. On screen, her chemistry with Mortensen and curiosity into his character adds to the mystery of the film as a whole.
In addition to the characters, shockingly realistic violence draws the viewer into the disturbing journey through the inner workings of London's crime scene. This journey includes a few graphic murders, slave-like prostitution, body disposal scenes and an intense knife-fight.
Though these scenes are engaging, getting to them takes patience. As much as "Eastern Promises" offers deep characters, realistic dialogue and interesting plot twists, it takes some time to build up to them.
Much of the film is simply built-up suspense that leads to an unsatisfying climax. The open-ended style of the film attempts to leave the audience wanting more, but only leaves too many questions with not enough evidence for the viewer to ponder.
Serendipity Point Films
Rating: 2 1/2 out of 4 stars
Viggo Mortensen is a man who chooses his roles carefully. To prepare for his role in "Eastern Promises," he spent several weeks in Russia without a translator in order to develop his accent and language skills. In addition, he studied Russian prison tattoos, which are a way of telling their life story and identifying themselves, while incarcerated in the former Soviet Union.
His research paid off.
In his newest film, Mortensen plays Nikolai, a driver for the Russian mob in London. Throughout the film, Nikolai speaks only in Russian and the occasional broken English while rising through the ranks of the family. He simultaneously becomes entangled with a local midwife (Naomi Watts), who threatens to expose a secret that could potentially dismantle the whole organization.
Character is the key to this film. When the audience first meets Nikolai, he's merely a driver for a gang whose dangerous reputation is illustrated in a brief, albeit extremely violent, murder scene. Mortensen is quiet and powerful in his portrayal of the gangster whose status is slowly elevated throughout the film.
Alongside Mortensen is Watts, whose passion for saving a baby and discovering the truth behind her existence leads her to become dangerously close with Mortensen's character. On screen, her chemistry with Mortensen and curiosity into his character adds to the mystery of the film as a whole.
In addition to the characters, shockingly realistic violence draws the viewer into the disturbing journey through the inner workings of London's crime scene. This journey includes a few graphic murders, slave-like prostitution, body disposal scenes and an intense knife-fight.
Though these scenes are engaging, getting to them takes patience. As much as "Eastern Promises" offers deep characters, realistic dialogue and interesting plot twists, it takes some time to build up to them.
Much of the film is simply built-up suspense that leads to an unsatisfying climax. The open-ended style of the film attempts to leave the audience wanting more, but only leaves too many questions with not enough evidence for the viewer to ponder.
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