A FRIEND OF THE DECEASED (Sony Pictures Classics) Starring: Alexandre Lazarev, Tatiana Kravitska, Eugen Pakin, Angelika Nevolina, Elena Korikova. Screenplay: Andrei Kourkov. Producers: Pierre Rival, Mykola Machenko. Director: Vyacheslav Krishtofovich. MPAA Rating: R (nudity, violence, profanity, adult themes) Running Time: 107 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
Life in post-Communist Ukraine has not been kind to Anatoly (Alexandre Lazarev). A respected academic and linguist before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Anatoly now finds his skills useful only for translating business deals at a few dollars a shot. Even his wife Katia (Angelika Nevolina) is finding a better deal in an affair with a co-worker. Feeling depressed and obsolete, Anatoly decides on a thoroughly market-economy solution to his woes: through a friend (Eugen Pachin), he hires someone to kill him. The problems ensue when Anatoly changes his mind, and the only way to end the contract on his life is to hire another killer to eliminate the first.
This might seem like the premise for a slapstick farce; in fact, it might sound strangely similar to the premise for Warren Beatty's current BULWORTH. But like BULWORTH, A FRIEND OF THE DECEASED takes that premise and steers it into some astute social commentary. Director Vyacheslav Krishtofovich and screenwriter Andrei Kourkov may romanticize the Communist past, but they also paint an intriguing picture of people adapting to the capitalist present. Many dive into the world of crime without any understanding of the potential consequences -- a bright-eyed young prostitute (Tatiana Kravitska) believes she can marry a violent man and still carry on with her work as though nothing had changed, while a hired killer leaves behind a wife and baby when his profession finally catches up with him. It is left to Anatoly to grasp the dangerous course his country is on, and to take a step which will turn compassion into a marketable commodity.
A FRIEND OF THE DECEASED might have been an even more compelling film if it had been more consistent, both in tone and pacing. At times it takes on the tense atmosphere of an espionage thriller; at other times, it has the loping pace of deadpan comedy; at still other times, there is the stark sincerity of domestic drama. Each is effective in its own way, but in combination they can leave you wondering how you're supposed to feel about the strange events in Anatoly's life. Fortunately, that confusion plays a significant role in this story of complex social change where the rules are still being determined. It is also fortunate that Alexandre Lazarev, with his soulful eyes and weary decency, makes for such a sympathetic tour guide through this world. A FRIEND OF THE DECEASED is a slightly blurry window onto a morally-blurry world and the people trying to survive while they try to make it all a bit more clear.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 shaken Kievs: 7.
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