Eastern Promises is David Cronenburg's (The Fly, Videodrome, A History of Violence) newest film about a woman (Naomi Watts) that stumbles upon a dead russian girl's diary, which becomes her gateway into the violent and dangerous world of the Russian mob in England. Viggo Mortenson plays the driver and sometime assassin of the mafia.
That's a pretty stripped down description since there is alot going on in this film but I don't want to give away any of the important twists and character defining moments. To be honest i was let down by A History Of Violence. It was well made sure, but the ending wasn't very satisfying and neither were most of the explanations. Eastern Promises however is a very satisfying film that has international intrigue, unique cultural references, interesting relationships and of course some very violent scenes.
The film moves at a nice pace and is filled with unique characters that engage the audience emotionally and a complicated plot with a few very satisfying surprises. The director uses very little to explain alot. Instead of spending several minutes trying to get a point across he simply sets up the scene or perhaps even a single shot to convey the important information. This cuts down on the run time significantly and increases our ability to stage engaged throughout. The total run time was only 1 hr. 4o, when the film could have easily been 2 hr 30.
My only complaint is that I wanted more, and I suppose that's the best complaint there is.
Gore - Medium
Nudity - More of Viggo then I ever wanted to see
Overall - 8/10
That's a pretty stripped down description since there is alot going on in this film but I don't want to give away any of the important twists and character defining moments. To be honest i was let down by A History Of Violence. It was well made sure, but the ending wasn't very satisfying and neither were most of the explanations. Eastern Promises however is a very satisfying film that has international intrigue, unique cultural references, interesting relationships and of course some very violent scenes.
The film moves at a nice pace and is filled with unique characters that engage the audience emotionally and a complicated plot with a few very satisfying surprises. The director uses very little to explain alot. Instead of spending several minutes trying to get a point across he simply sets up the scene or perhaps even a single shot to convey the important information. This cuts down on the run time significantly and increases our ability to stage engaged throughout. The total run time was only 1 hr. 4o, when the film could have easily been 2 hr 30.
My only complaint is that I wanted more, and I suppose that's the best complaint there is.
Gore - Medium
Nudity - More of Viggo then I ever wanted to see
Overall - 8/10
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1 comment:
ok so, maybe i was just suffering from emotional attrition from having just seen "The Brave One", which is by the way, with the exception of the ending, the way that "Death Wish" should come across, -but EP seem to me, well, pretty frikken tired. everyone seems to be something of a burnout even to the point that the action sequences sort of emminate a sort of too-apathetic-kick-up-a-fuss type of vibe. all in all the pace was very nice and consistent with a certain understated unbalance to things but for something a little more punchy, viceral, and tense, i would go with "Little Odessa" (1994) with Tim Roth and Ed Furlong over this film if i was picking from a shelf. oh yeah, and where in the hell is the Naomi we saw in "Mulholland Drive"? ok, so maybe 7/10...
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