Review of Citizen X (1995) by Michele S — 30 Jan 2010

Citizen X is in my movie collection and it's a movie I've watched many times. It's based on the true story of Andrei Chikatilo, a Russian serial killer. I did a research paper on him in college and this movie is perfectly aligned with the facts. The movie doesn?t delve into his childhood; therefore, I recommend reading up on him prior to or after the movie to get the full story of his life (if you?re interested). Andrei?s killing sprees spanned over a twelve year period. At one point he becomes a suspect; however, the police let him go due to misleading evidence that cleared him. Years later, he was finally caught and convicted of killing 52 women and children (he admitted to killing more).

What really makes this movie standout is the performance by Stephen Rea as Lt. Burakov. In my opinion, he gives an award-winning performance. Lt. Burakov was a detective assigned to the investigation. This was his first time investigating a serial killer case; needless to say, it was extremely overwhelming for him. It also didn?t help that he was in a communist society that wanted to brush off the idea of a serial killer, which made obtaining the right kind of assistance very difficult. He eventually receives the outside help he?s been requesting for so many years, which finally enables him to track down Andrei.

It?s also important to note that Donald Sutherland, Max von Sydow, and Jeffrey DeMunn graced this movie with their outstanding performances as well.

Performances and a story you won?t forget...don?t miss out on this bit of history!