Eastern Promises = MUST See

My faith in cinema has been restored. I’ve seen a lot of terrible, meritless films in the last year and was beginning to believe I’d somehow out-grown movies. I’d say the low-point came when I found myself sitting in a musty General Cinemas theatre watching the once-great John Turturro repeatedly shame himself in Transformers.

Remakes, teen-humor flicks, and politically charged schlockumentaries have dominated the big screen for what feels like forever, but a diamond just surfaced, and its imperative you pay to see it.

Eastern Promises pushes the envelope on graphic violence and subject material, its true; but it does so believably. Director David Cronenberg tackles one touchy subject after another with the sensitivity of an Iraqi hospital bomber. He just refused to sugar coat anything and pushes the limits of what you thought could be shown in American theatres.

There aren’t many characters in Eastern Promises, but each one is well fleshed-out, their actions logical and not painfully clichéd. This is, in large part, due to a script, which is good for many after-movie quotables. You won’t fucking believe what you just heard; I’m thrilled it wasn’t over edited.

The acting is first-rate all ‘round, despite a few laughably fake Russian accents. I didn’t like a few of the characters at first glance but as the movie goes on and the phenomenal story unfolds they really do grow on you.

The bottom line is that I could gush about this film until I subtly spoiled every surprise in store for you, so I wont. Mature movie-goers MUST see this great work, it kills me to see it making so little money. I can’t even remember the last time I walked out of a theatre so impressed, or kept thinking about days after. Do yourself a favor…


10/10