Gorky Park

A very unique, fast moving and entertaining story about political and criminal intrigue in Cold War (real cold, just watch the movie!) Russia. The grisly murder of three young people sends our protagonist, Inspector Arkady Renko (W. Hurt), on a complex, intertwining mission to find out who and/or what was behind this dastardly crime. As the crime facts unfold, potential suspects begin to surface in the mind of the inspector, suspects that may include American collusion with KGB officials. Maybe not entirely novel on the surface, but the sequences of events and the characterizations set forth are anything but pedestrian.

Perhaps the sequences of the facial reconstruction of the 3 victims "de-skinned" facial bones and the subsequent deductions provide the impetus for an unusual plot setting. The involvement of the American cop (B. Dennehy), the Siberian beauty and romantic interest (J. Pacula) who wants out of her homeland, the rich American (L. Marvin), the inspector's police buddies, to name a few, provide more than mere tangential plot fodder: the sum of their actions coalesces in the inspector's mind and takes him closer yet to what could be a very inconvenient truth. All this is done cinematically with good pace and little wasted motion.

It is noteworthy that most of the so-called Russians are British Isles actors who maintain their native brogue while donning the usual Kossack-like apparel! Yet their histrionic adeptness suffers not and their characterizations come off well. After all, we've seen this type of casting done before, but I don't think we could pull this off in modern Russia. Instead of filming in Finland with British actors, we would be filming in Moscow or St. Pete with Russian actors.

Any additional reviewing will get me into the "spoiler" category, so I'll just sign off by saying see the movie. To me, it is William Hurt's best!

This film begins with three young adults skating on a frozen lake in Moscow. Not long afterward, their bodies are found, and to the horror of the investigating military agent, "Arkady Renko" (William Hurt), their faces and fingerprints have been surgically removed. In addition to that, two of them were shot in the mouth, rendering dental recognition almost impossible as well. Even more perplexing to him is the fact that the KGB insists on not taking over the investigation even when it appears that one of the victims is an American. To underscore his concerns, his immediate supervisor, "Chief Prosecutor Iamskoy" (Ian Bannen), also voices his suspicions of the KGB's involvement in these murders and advises him to be extremely cautious. What he doesn't realize, however, is just how far up the corruption extends to not only his department--but within the KGB as well. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was a pretty interesting film due in large part to the way the director (Michael Apted) captured the cold Russian winter environment of Moscow so well. I also liked the performances of both William Hurt and Joanna Pacula (as "Irina Asanova"). That being said, I found this movie to be quite entertaining, and I recommend it to viewers interested in a film of this sort.

I didn't have high expectations, but was pleasantly surprised. It's hard to write anything about this type of film without spoiling, but what I can say without telling too much about the plot is, that the film is a non-cliché film, which still is full of clichés (love scene being the biggest). Filming locations are good, though "Moscow" (Helsinki) is a bit too similar to Stockholm.

The movie may be a bit too long for the American taste, but for more European film taste the length was just perfect. The end was so complicated, that even Agatha Christie would have been proud. The final solution between the main characters was completely different from what I expected, and definitely was that cherry for the cake.

****/5

This is a very good movie with excellent performances by William Hurt and Lee Marvin.If I have a list of favorite movies of all the time, this will qualify as such. A very good adaptation of the book by Martin Cruz Smith. The portrayal of life in Moscow was fascinating,although the movie did not remain faithful to the book one hundred percent.Of course for resons of time script had to be changed a little.But none of the suspense was missing. The action was fast paced , it's one of those movies you don't want it to end.The music score complimented this intense detective story set in a frosty Moscow.I recommend this movie to all those who like original stories set in exotic places like this one in Russia.Arkady Renko is really the epitome of the non-conformistic citizen who cynically sneers at the rotten aparatus of the communist state while trying to solve this triple homicide.

It has been a long time since I last viewed this film, but it was a welcome revisit, and a chance to see a great performance by William Hurt (Kiss of the Spider Woman, A History of Violence, The Proposition). After about a dozen of his films, I never tire of watching him act.

The cast also included Lee Marvin in a very good performance, and the ever-lovable Brian Dennehy. This was also the American debut of Joanna Pacula, who got a Golden Globe nomination for her outstanding performance. And, we also got to see her golden globes in a skintastic moment, right before she gets Hurt! This was her finest film in a career spanning 30 years.

Do not miss this fine police procedural with a surprise ending. The motive is brilliant.