overly complicated

Rating: 6/10 (3 June 2015)

This movie proves worth and creates an interesting moral dilemma, making the movie more metaphorical and layered. It is attractively shot and passionately acted, furthermore the plot scheme of Child 44 provides an interesting insight into the grim period of Soviet Union history. The set design is more than impressive, it is almost tangible, physical. On the other hand, the film can often prove disorienting and uneven, as there are too many significantly introduced – then left aside – protagonists. It's easy to think how lost can feel someone from outside of the region (for whom these facts are not at all evident) and how the viewer can feel when confronting this dense tissue. Overall when it comes to entertainment and storytelling value, Daniel Espinosa's film Child 44 is just acceptable, though the ambitious director got crushed by the complexity of the material.