LEVIATHAN (2014) – The Review

Well, sometimes some confusion can be a good thing. When I was first aware of this film’s title, I thought that this may be a remake/reboot of the 1989 Peter Weller starring monster thriller with a massive CGI beastie akin to those from PACIFIC RIM or last Summer’s retooled GODZILLA. Seems I was mistaken. LEVIATHAN doesn’t concern itself with a colossal rampaging demon risen from the depths, but rather it’s a complex drama set in a dreary, Russian fishing village (yes, it has subtitles). The title doesn’t refer to a scaly giant that the film’s heroes must face. They instead must square off against an even more formidable adversary, for this leviathan is comprised not of claws and fangs, but corruption and the cruelties of fate itself.

The story begins as the sun rises over that Russian village, as Nikolay (Aleksey Serebryakov) heads away from his ramshackle beach home to the train station where he picks up his old army pal Dmitriy (Vladimir Vdovichenkov). It’s not until breakfast with Nikolay’s much-younger second wife Lilya (Elena Lyadova) and surly teenage son Romka (Sergey Pokhodaev) that we learn the real reason for this reunion. Dmitriy is now a high-priced Moscow lawyer who’s lending his services to prevent the town’s Mayor from grabbing Nikolay’s bit of land for a paltry sum in order to build a new “communication center” (Nikolay is sure that a palace will be built instead). Dmitriy believes that the Mayor will make a more reasonable offer after he’s aware of the dirt that the lawyer as dug up on him. But the corrupt, bullying Mayor Vadim (Roman Madyanov) will not be so easily intimidated. Over the course of the next few weeks, the court proceedings light the fuse on a powder keg of deception, intimidation, blackmail, adultery, and murder. Oh, and that flame is fueled by lots and lots of vodka.

Primarily this story is the trials and tribulations of the Job-like Nikolay (or, as they call him, ‘Koyla’ for short) compellingly portrayed by the stoic Serebryakov. The weight of the world is etched on his weary face which often resembles a granite-carved bullet, his squinting eyes striking out with tiny probing laser beams. That is, until life, and cases of booze, finally dims his gaze and quelches his hair-trigger temper. Of course his old pal Dmitriy played with intelligence by Vdovichenkov tries to with little success to extinguish the white-hot rage that consumes Koyla. This now erudite man of the law is often ill at ease, far away from Moscow’s hustle and bustle, but he feels indebted to his earthy comrade, although hearing his old barracks name “junior” still rankles him. Lyadova as the quiet beauty Lilya, seems too gentle for the brooding mechanic she’s married. It isn’t until the film’s mid-section that we see the despair in her eyes from the constant drudgery (working at the local fish-cleaning plant) and a hunger to escape. Some of that same hunger exists in her stepson Romka played by Pokhodaev, whose rebellious attitude lashes out at her. Late in the tale, he finally lets down his guard and reveals the heartbroken boy within.

As great as these actors are, the film is often “stolen” by one of the best villains we’ve seen on-screen in a while. The diminutive Madyanov dominates every scene and truly lives up to the nasty descriptions by Koyla in the story’s opening. The Mayor is a squashed-down, compact Jabba the Hut gulping down vodka shots rather than slimy space-frogs, a malignant, middle-aged, male Veruca Salt who will have his way no matter what and who never learns his lesson at the Wonka factory. His few calm moments are in conversation with the Orthodox church’s high priest. Is the holy man trying to redeem the politico, or is this relationship more…convuluted? The volatile, venomous Vadim is a welcome shot of energy into the core of this downbeat drama.

Director Andrey Zvyagintsev directs the somber story, which he wrote with Oleg Negin, in a straight-forward, measured style with no showy or distracting flourishes. He even makes the choice to hold some things back from the audience in a pivotal second act sequence during a birthday picnic. We suspect that the mix of firearms and booze will not end well, but we’re not told of the end results until much later (the scene does produce the biggest laughs from the revelers choices for target practice). The scenery has a desolate, dark beauty thanks to the expert camera work from Mikhail Krichman and enhanced by the haunting score from Phillip Glass, especially in the shots of Romika alone sitting near a washed-up whale skeleton. LEVIATHAN is an unforgettable, very moving story of life and loss, and is very worthy of its Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.

4 Out of 5

LEVIATHAN opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Tivoli Theatre