Child 44

Adapted from Tom Rob Smith's 2008 suspenseful bestseller, Child 44—set in the paranoid claustrophobia of Stalin-era Russia—revolves around Leo Demidov (Tom Hardy), a Ukrainian orphan who later became the WWII hero who raised the flag over Berlin's Reichstag in 1945. Now, Leo works as an interrogator in the MGB (predecessor of the KGB), chasing alleged spies to get them to rat on other alleged traitors. One day, he's summoned to handle a case involving the death of a colleague's son, which initially appears to be an accident, but soon becomes obvious as murder. But murder is a capitalist disease that does not exist in the U.S.S.R.—and it's not just one homicide, but a series of grisly, grotesque child killings that no one wants to acknowledge. Heavy-handedly adapted by veteran screenwriter/novelist Richard Price and ploddingly directed by Daniel Espinosa, what should be a tension-filled thriller instead features a multitude of undeveloped characters with too many clichéd subplots and incoherent complications. As Leo's miserable, supposedly “unpatriotic” schoolteacher wife, Noomi Rapace is burdened with motivations that continually change as the plot thickens, although Joel Kinnaman has a juicy part as sniveling, cowardly Agent Vasili. Boasting a fine but wasted supporting cast that includes Vincent Cassel, Paddy Considine, Jason Clarke, and Gary Oldman, this forgettable film is an optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “Reflections of History” behind-the-scenes featurette (8 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a small extras package for an unremarkable thriller.] (S. Granger)