The Wizard of the Kremlin is a somewhat interesting look at this period in Russian but unfortunately quickly becomes a little drab.
Given the period that The Wizard of the Kremlin covers it could have been a fascinating look at the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of Vladimir Putin but instead it sees this period through the lens of Putin’s advisor who is exceedingly dry and the whole film becomes flat because of it. The Wizard of the Kremlin is still interesting to a degree but could have been much more.
The Wizard of the Kremlin is based on the book by Giuliano da Empoli, and is centred around Vadim Baranov (Paul Dano) who is the retired advisor to Vladimir Putin (Jude Law). Baranov is the fictional version of the real-life Vladisklav Surkov. American journalist, Rowland (Jeffrey Wright), is invited to Baranov’s family home and tells Rowland his life story and his involvement in helping Putin to assume power in Russia. The film then follows Baranov’s story in flashbacks.
Beginning with Baranov’s youthful involvement in the avant-garde theater scene in Moscow in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union where everything seemed possible, he meets Ksenia (Alicia Vikander) and she becomes his girlfriend. Ksenia however leaves him for Dmitri Sidorov (Tom Sturridge) who is making a lot of money in the new Russian freedom and having much more fun than Baranov.
Baranov then moves into television and teams up with Boris Berezovsky (Will Keen) who is an oligarch who runs Russia’s largest television network and who wants to find a replacement for the ailing Boris Yeltsin (George Sogis). Berezovsky thinks that Putin (who was then the head of the FSB (Federal Security Service)) would be a compliant choice so Berezovsky and Baranov visit Putin to discuss with him the possibility of Putin becoming President offering him positive coverage. Putin betrays Berezovsky however and he and Baranov team up and Baranov becomes Putin’s chief advisor during his rise to power and the events that follow.
Dano’s portrayal of Baranov is dry almost to the point of being dull, and as he is the major focus of The Wizard of the Kremlin, means the whole film suffers the same fate. Even Jude Law’s introduction into the film can’t save the blandness once he appears. Law’s portrayal of Putin is also rather underwhelming.
The Wizard of the Kremlin is a somewhat interesting look at this period in Russian but unfortunately quickly becomes a little drab.
Reviewed by Rob McKinnon
Rating 3 out of 5
Distributor: Vertical
