A young Russian filmmaker becomes an unlikely advisor to Vladimir Putin as he rises to power in post-Soviet Russia, navigating the new era’s complexities and chaos.
Chuck says:
I’m quite sure those interested in the history of late 20th-century Russian will be taken by Olivier Assayas’ “The Wizard of the Kremlin.” Based on the historical fiction novel by Giuliano Da Empoli, viewers with the knowledge of how Vladimir Putin came to power will likely be fascinated by the behind-the-scenes look provided here as well as be incensed by any liberties taken with the truth.
To be sure, here in America only a very slim slice of the movie-going public will flock to this European production. Frankly, I’m surprised its being released in theaters here at all, yet Vertical Entertainment is taking a chance on it. I suppose they need losses to write off like any other major corporation.
The question for those of us who don’t the difference between a Bolshevik and a Stalinist, is whether there anything else of interest in “Wizard” that might grab our attention? Other than a dynamic performance from Jude Law, not much, as the film suffers no fools where its subject matter is concerned. Hitting the ground running, Assayas and his co-writer Emmanuel Carrrere aren’t interested in providing a primer on Russian politics from 1950 – 2000, which is understandable. Unfortunately, they fail to give us a protagonist we care about which may have caused the ignorant viewer to lean in and become engaged on a humanistic, emotional level.
The film opens in 2019 with an American professor (Jeffery Wright) visiting Moscow to do research on a biography of writer Yevgeny Zamayatin. He’s summoned to the home of Vlad Baranov (Paul Dano), a retired Russian spin doctor who shares an interest in the author. The pair bond over this and before you know it, they are sitting down to tea and for the next two hours, Baranov reveals all he knows regarding the machinations that led to Putin’s rise.
His tale begins in the mid-1990’s, the Russian people still trying to get their footing after Mikhail Gorbachev’s dismantling of the Soviet Republic. Baranov takes advantage of the new but short-lived sense of liberalism that’s emerged and begins to work in the theater. His radical productions lead him to working for a national news service. There he gets the attention of Boris Berezovsky (Will Keen) an oligarch who takes him under his wing. He has an ulterior motive as he wishes to use Baranov’s media expertise to help bring Putin (Law) to power.
Had the screenwriters focused exclusively on this, the film may have been more engaging. As it is, things get bogged down with far too many ancillary characters and incidents that prove distracting. Baranov’s love affair with Ksenia (Alicia Vikander) a vacuous opportunist, adds nothing as does a subplot involving oligarch Dimitry Sidorov (Tom Sturridge), who’s ultimately used as a scapegoat by Putin’s administration. Scenes involving Wagner group leader Yegeny Prigozhin (Andris Keiss) and poet Edouard Liminov (Magne-Havard Brekke) lack context and beg to be developed.
However, as they all plays out, Law captures our attention whenever he appears, which isn’t often enough. The actor has been engaged in a quiet renaissance, succeeding in challenging roles in films that have been regrettably overlooked. “Peter Pan and Wendy” (2023), “Firebrand” (2023), “The Order” (2024) and “Eden” (2024) all show the actor at the top of his game, subtly pushing himself to display a range that’s oft been overlooked. The same is true here, his steely presence used to great effect as Putin, Law providing the character with an icy, snake-like demeanor that proves chilling.
“Wizard” falls victim to the trap so many historical films stumble into. In its effort to cram the events of two decades into a 135-minute feature, it does none of them justice and as a result, gives the viewer little of interest. It’s a movie brimming with incident but is somehow dull as dishwater. I couldn’t help but wonder if Baranov’s skills of manipulation couldn’t have made this inert production a bit more palatable.
2 Stars
