Limonov: The Ballad

Edward Limonov is quite a controversial figure and having heard director Kirill Serebrennikov, whom I have enjoyed his Russian works, was making a movie about him, I was skeptical because Limonov is such a difficult and fascinating character, it's kind of hard to tell how well it is going to be made. But despite the uneven structure and some bizarre choices, Kirill Serebrennikov does handle the narrative and character study pretty well.

Starting off, Kirill Serebrennikov direction on the atmosphere, setting, and the writing is pretty good as Serebrennikov understands the tone and what Limonov was and his personality. Exploring his background with interesting direction yet ballsy artistic choices to reflect on his beliefs, personality and questionable conflicts. Interplaced with great camerawork, production designs, and sound designs throughout.

The performances are pretty good. Ben Whishaw is fantastic as his energy, tone, and personality captures the chaotic nature of Limonov, alongside with the rest of the cast members as well. When it comes to the writing, it surprisingly doesn't follow the typical Hollywood biopic structure and follows through with a very ballsy approach. However, because of this, it did end up feeling a bit subpar and uneven when it came to what it wanted to express. Creating certain sequences to feel a bit slow and uninviting. Alongside with some of the bizarre dialogue choices.

However, Kirill Serebrennikov still manages to create an interesting tale with some really good ballsy approaches.

This movie is a rare instance when a film gets better the longer you watch it. I'd say that if you manage to suffer through the first 20 minutes of it's runtime you will start to appreciate it's strong sides.

The main cast does a good job at painting complex characters, although they are clearly confined by the weak writing.

Visually, the film sometimes looks amazing with longshots and expressive camera choices. But next second the movie looks like the editor was checking out all of the buttons in Adobe Premiere and decided to forget about any sense of taste or moderation.

Music-wise its strong, with some bangers, especially when they try to include some Russian soul in the music choices.

It's fair to say that the goal of making a believable portrait of Edward Limonov is a rather difficult one. And the movie, with all it's questionable choices and subpart writing, managed to catch at least a little bit of magic that it should have had.

Limonov: The Ballad of Eddie, directed by Kirill Serebrennikov, tackles the turbulent life of Eduard Limonov, the Soviet poet turned political antihero. From the streets of New York to the salons of Paris and the turmoil of Russian politics, the film ambitiously spans decades of Limonov's provocative journey. However, while visually striking and anchored by a strong lead performance, the film struggles to cohesively tie its many threads together.

Ben Whishaw delivers a magnetic portrayal of Limonov, capturing his contradictions: the poet, the rebel, and the controversial political figure. Viktoria Miroshnichenko and Tomas Arana provide solid support, though their characters often feel secondary to Limonov's sprawling narrative.

Serebrennikov's direction is bold, with moments of surrealism and striking visuals that reflect Limonov's chaotic and larger-than-life existence. Yet, the pacing is uneven, with certain segments feeling overly long or disjointed. The screenplay, co-written by Emmanuel Carrère, Pawel Pawlikowski, and Ben Hopkins, is packed with fascinating details but lacks a clear focus, leaving the audience to piece together Limonov's story without a strong emotional anchor.

Despite its flaws, *Limonov: The Ballad of Eddie* is a fascinating exploration of an enigmatic figure. It's not a straightforward biopic but a kaleidoscopic look at a man who defied easy categorization. While the film may not resonate with all viewers, it succeeds in capturing the audacity and contradictions of its subject.

6/10 - an ambitious but uneven portrait of a controversial icon.