Child 44
Short description
Child 44 is set in the Soviet Union during the Stalin era, where state security officer Leo Demidov has built his career on unquestioning loyalty to the regime. When a boy is found dead, officials dismiss the case as an accident, since the party insists that crime does not exist in a perfect socialist society. Leo becomes convinced otherwise as he learns of similar deaths, and his refusal to let the matter drop turns him into a liability. Stripped of his position and sent to a remote town, he continues investigating with the help of his wife Raisa while a rival colleague works to destroy him. The film is based on Tom Rob Smith's novel.
Daniel Espinosa directed the film, which was written by Richard Price and produced by Ridley Scott, Greg Shapiro and Michael Schaefer. It came after Espinosa's Safe House (2012). Tom Hardy plays Leo, with Noomi Rapace as Raisa, Gary Oldman as General Mikhail Nesterov, Joel Kinnaman as Vasili, Fares Fares as Alexei Andreyev and Paddy Considine as Vladimir Malevich. The production involved 48 credited cast members and 218 credited crew.
Released in 2015, Child 44 runs 137 minutes and was made for about 50 million US dollars, earning roughly 13 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.4 out of 10 from around 79,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.3 out of 10 from over 1,800 votes. A critics' rating of 4.9 out of 10 from 84 reviews places it below the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film is based on the novel of the same name by Tom Rob Smith, the first in a trilogy about Lev Demidov, written in 2008. The novel was nominated for 17 international awards.
- Initially, Ridley Scott was supposed to direct the film.
- Christian Bale was considered for the lead role.
- Philip Seymour Hoffman was initially considered for the role that went to Vincent Cassel.
- During filming, cinematographer Philippe Rousselot was replaced by Oliver Wood.
- Following the cancellation of the film's screening in Russia, its premieres were cancelled in Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Georgia.
- Filming took place in Czech cities, namely Prague and Ostrava.
- At the moment when the main character reads the protocol of the first murder, it is learned from what is read that it is October. However, in the shot during the murder, it is clearly visible that it is the height of summer outside.
- An expert states that the Tobol River is located six kilometers from Volsk, which is incorrect. Volsk is located on the Volga River, while the Tobol is a Siberian river, and they are separated by at least a thousand kilometers.
- Throughout the film, Gary Oldman's character – General Nesterov – wears the shoulder boards of a colonel.
- The film states that the criminal investigation department did not exist in the USSR – this is not true. In Soviet Russia, the criminal investigation department was created under the NKVD on October 5, 1918.
- The screenplay for this film was on the 2008 Black List of unproduced screenplays.
- Central Partnership withdrew its application for a distribution certificate for the film *Number 44* from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, accepting any commercial consequences of this decision. The release in Russian cinemas was scheduled for April 17, 2015, however, following a press screening, questions were raised with the Ministry of Culture regarding the film's content, primarily concerning the distortion of historical facts and a peculiar interpretation of events before, during, and after the Great Patriotic War, as well as the portrayal of Soviet citizens of that historical era. On April 14, a screening of the final version of the film took place with the participation of experts, representatives of the ministry, the Russian distributor – Central Partnership – and the media. After this screening, the opinion of the distributors and representatives of the Ministry of Culture coincided: the release of such films on the eve of the 70th anniversary of Victory is unacceptable.
- Midway through the film, the police colonel is addressed as "general," and at the very end, the major is also addressed as "general."
- Raisa says she was at the doctor's on "Peace Avenue," but the action takes place in 1953. Until June 20, 1966, this metro station was called "Botanical Garden."
- When Lev searches for the killer at the RostSelMash plant, a worker can be seen in the background using an angle grinder ("bolgarka"), but this tool did not appear in the USSR until the late 1960s.
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