Child 44 (2015)

A disgraced member of the Russian military police investigates a series of child murders during the Stalin-era Soviet Union.

Director:

Daniel Espinosa

Writers:

Richard Price (screenplay), Tom Rob Smith (novel)

Stars:

Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Noomi Rapace

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Xavier Atkins	...	Young Leo Demidov
Mark Lewis Jones	...	Tortoise
Tom Hardy	...	Leo Demidov
Joel Kinnaman	...	Vasili
Fares Fares	...	Alexei Andreyev
Karel Dobrý	...	Photographer
Noomi Rapace	...	Raisa Demidov
Agnieszka Grochowska	...	Nina Andreyeva
Petr Vanek	...	Fyodor
Jana Stryková	...	Mara
Jason Clarke	...	Anatoly Tarasovich Brodsky
Ursina Lardi	...	Zina Gubinova
Michael Nardone	...	Semyon Okun
Jemma O'Brien	...	Elena Okun
Lottie Steer	...	Tamara Okun

Storyline

Based on the first of a trilogy by Tom Rob Smith and set in the Stalin era of the Soviet Union. The plot is about an idealistic pro-Stalin security officer who decides to investigate a series of child murders in a country where supposedly this sort of crime doesn't exist. The state would not hear of the existence of a child murderer let alone a serial killer. He gets demoted and exiled but decides, with just the help of his wife, to continue pursuing the case.

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Plot Keywords:

murder of a child | totalitarian state | totalitarian regime | soviet union | serial killer | 

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Taglines:

Catch the killer. Expose the truth.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | History | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, some disturbing images, language and a scene of sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's opening prologue states, "In 1933, at the height of Joseph Stalin's state-imposed famine against Ukrainian people, an estimated 25,000 died each day from starvation. The systematic extermination by hunger known as the I Iolodomor [aka The Holodomor] left millions of children orphaned."

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Goofs

The film is set in 1953, many of the soldiers are armed with AKM assault rifles. This rifle was not introduced until 1959. The soldiers should have had AK 47 rifles.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Tortoise: Your father?
Young Leo Demidov: [yes]
Tortoise: Dead?
Young Leo Demidov: [yes]
Tortoise: What's your name?
Young Leo Demidov: I don't want it any more.
Tortoise: I'll give you a new one. Leo. Like a lion.

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Connections

Featured in Reflections of History: Recreating the World of Child 44 (2015)

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Soundtracks

Stenka Razin
Written by Slava Groc

User Reviews

Could not keep me interested.

It's not the crime drama I fully expected.

Leo is a cop in Moscow who comes across a serial killer. Most of the movie is about the challenges of being a cop in communist Russia that does not want to believe their perfect society could produce a monster and would prefer to ignore the problem, not admit to it.

I learned a lot about communist Russia in the 1950s but feel the lesson drew out the movie to a point where I just wanted to sleep.

Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace did not electrify the screen for me, but giving some credit here, I did like Rapace's character, but I guess there was not enough for me

And I wish there was more Gary Oldman in the movie

The movie was cold and heartless, similar to what I expected Russia was like during the time, but I was able to found no connection and became bored with the twist and turns that took the movie off its original story arch

Can't Recommend

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

Czech Republic UK USA Russia

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

17 April 2015 (UK)

Also Known As:

Child 44

Filming Locations:

Prague, Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$621,812, 19 April 2015

Gross USA:

$1,224,330

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,951,093

Company Credits

Production Co:

Summit Entertainment, Worldview Entertainment, Scott Free Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

137 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1