Leviathan
2014
🎯 Verdict
✍️ Full Review
Political coercion and weaponization of bureaucracy in the lands of comrade visualized through the drab, muted aesthetics chip away precarious family foundations in this bleak Russian film about a quint little town where there is no need for any crime boss or slimy billionaire to be reigning at the top. Leviathan is pretty straightforward in terms of its family dysfunction but when the net is widespread, it takes its political culture, a barely functioning judiciary and a joke of a law enforcement authority in the veneer of a democracy including the historical trauma of Russia into account and its relationship with the people who contributed for the motherland, all left to fend for themselves, the overall view from the top is anything but all glory, honor and pride. What I am most surprised at is how this one slipped past the totalitarian censorship of the commissary. Staying true to its name, Leviathan pokes holes by showing how much religious interpretations can be bent to serve the rich and powerful and at its worst, how it can be instrumentalized in legitimizing the tyranny of the state. Elena Lyadova's outstanding performance elevates this crime drama.