Review of Child 44 (2015) by Susan S — 25 Apr 2015

I gave this film four stars out of five. I should add the caveat, however, that I've read the book so I had a basic idea of where the plot would go. Apparently the plot is too complicated for many viewers.

The basic story here is that there's a serial killer at work in the USSR in the 1950s. But no active investigation is going on because acknowledging the existence of a serial killer would contradict Soviet dogma. The investigator assigned to the case is instructed to tell the family of the latest victim (his brother's family, in fact), that the government has determined the death to have been accidental. And that claims by any witnesses to the contrary, or any claim that the boy had been found naked, must be disregarded.

The major secondary plot is the path of this investigator's career: he starts off as a war hero in a high prestige position in Moscow. But when his wife is denounced as a possible spy, he must choose between his career and his wife. When he sticks by her, this leads to a demotion to the boondocks - a rural area in the Ukraine.

The wife's story is itself fairly complicated. Her relationship with her husband is also far more complex than he realizes.

I find the story compelling, and do not quite understand the contempt so many reviewers show.