Child 44 Blu-ray Digital HD

This is a compelling film with brilliant lead actors. Read more

great movie Read more

brilliant acting by tom hardy and noomi rapace. subject matter is hard. boys being murdered by psycho, while the stalinist secret police hunt down so called 'traitors'...zero evidence and zero trials, just brutal interrogation and political lies to subjugate all citizens to the ways of the dictator stalin and his elite. that part was a little too close to home for those of us who have lived under such regimes before finding our way out to democratic countries....and the present march toward authoritarianism and 'secret police state' activity in 2025 usa makes this movie even more thought provoking. Read more

Read the book and never knew it was made into a movie until recently. I'm a fan of Tom Hardy and Noomi Rappace and figured if they were in the movie it'd be good. I was not disappointed. I've always found the Soviet Union way of life during the Cold War fascinating in a historical point of view. How so many millions could have succumbed to mad dictators for generations is mind-boggling. The movie does a good job describing their way of life, and how their country known as 'A Worker's Paradise' could have no such thing as 'serial killers' I believe was the mindset of Soviet leaders keeping an iron fist throughout the country. Tom Hardy proves his a true actor, changing his accent in convincible style, and Noomi Rappace is excellent as his wife. Gary Oldman is another favorite actor of mine, but his role is minimal. If you read the book you won't be disappointed. Tom Hardy plays Leo, a WWII Soviet Hero now working as a high-rank State Militia Officer. His best friend's child is killed in what is first described as a train accident, however, evidence points to a murder. But in a 'Worker's Paradise' such things do not happen. Leo convinces his friend not to pursue the matter over his son's death, but the child's mother (another close friend of Leo) shames him into doing otherwise. This act costs Leo his job, and he is demoted and shipped off to an obscure city where the mass Soviet civilians are forced to work and live (which is to say a life of poverty.). Leo finds another murder and puts two and two together, realizing the killer is traveling from city to city in search of child victims. His boss (Oldman) wants him to drop the matter lest they both be demoted and shipped off to someplace worse. Eventually Oldman embraces a search for the murderer and the hunt is on. Meanwhile, Leo's wife comes under suspicion by a ruthless policeman and she confesses her true feelings to her husband, which come as a shock to him, rocking Leo right down to the core. Read more

It’s a b movie, but it’s very enjoyable. I see myself watching it at least two more times if you’re a Tom fan and want it on disc, here It is. Read more

This movie is based on a novel. I stopped watching this about 75 % of the way in. It keeps bouncing around about the Russian Secret Police looking for traitors and boys being killed. The year is 1953 and Stalin says Russia is paradise- and there is no murder in paradise. But the secret police kill, in cold blood, dozens of people in this film. Then for a minute it’s back to a discussion about the serial killer that everyone pretends isn’t real. Then more accusations about treason and shooting some more people. The protagonist and his wife end up on the run because he wouldn’t arrest her for treason, so they were kicked out of Moscow. As fugitives they try to track the serial killer while the secret police are hunting them. I gave it 3 stars because Gary Oldman and Tom Hardy are in it. Read more

Great film! Even though the story line in the film does not duplicate the real criminal story in every datail (the real serial killer was not a surgeon), it is in any case a very good movie, and gives us a picture of the Stalinist era as well as the consequences. (He may have dragged Russia into the 20th Century, but at what cost?) The acting is outstanding as European acting consistently tends to be, and the entire aura seems to capture the paranoia of the Soviet communist era. The film begins by establishing the political environment (and indeed how it influences personal relationships), which then perfectly encompasses the crime story - a story within a story. Another aspect of films taking place in the Soviet Union/Russia is the presence and influence of the Russian railway system, with grey steam pouring out of their smokestacks, the red star at her helm, the high pitched screeching whistle, and brakes; in some films plowing through deep snow; carrying passengers in well appointed passenger cars or in freight cars; from Dr. Zivago, to Anna Karenina, to this film as well, the railway system plays a major role and is emblematic of Mother Russia. At times, it also has the feel of a stage play and film as well. Great movie, outstanding acting! Add it to your collection. Read more

Excellent movie. Acting was outstanding. This was Russia in the "days". Read more