'Eastern Promises' -- 3 1/2 stars
14.09 09:21 - 'Eastern Promises' -- 3 1/2 starsAn unusually strong crime thriller, 'Eastern Promises' comes from director David Cronenberg, a meticulous old-school craftsman of a type that is becoming increasingly rare. It's difficult to describe his technique, which is vivid but not flashy. Similarly this tale, about the sinister workings of the Russian mob in modern-day London, is gripping and often spectacularly violent--more about the bathhouse murder sequence later--but never salaciously so.
The Canadian director has enjoyed a fruitful ongoing collaboration with cinematographer Peter Suschitzky, and while it sounds reductive to say it, the camera is almost always exactly where it should be in relation to the actors. That's the Cronenberg part of the job. As in his previous (and, I think, lesser) project, 'A History of Violence'--which had a remarkable first hour followed by a more mundane second one--the rich, burnished palette casts a subtle glow, allowing plenty of space for dark shadows as well. Credit there belongs to Suschitzky. Read more
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