I would give this film four stars but I have given it five in order to try to balance out the other review in which it only received one star.
I liked this film very much. I haven't read the book yet but am planning to do so. Obviously I'm sure the book is a lot better than the film, but I found the film interesting enough to spark my interest.

Despite what the other reviewer said I don't think this film drags. In fact it is a very short film, just over 80 minutes long.
At first I was put off by the Russian accent that everyone speaks in. I thought that they could have just spoken in an english accent, and it would not seem wrong. But I got over this and I actually enjoyed the accents after a few minutes. It created a stronger sense of place and made a change as I don't listen to Russian accents very often.

I thought Ben Kingsley who played Petrovich, the police officer, was very good and definately entertaining to watch, although I would disagree strongly with the other reviewer that this is a 'comedy'.

The basic plot is that Rodya, a university student in 19th century Russia, feels that society is unjust and that he is allowed to commit crimes in order to make it more just. So he murders his landlady who is a miserly old woman, and steals the gold. But afterwards he feels extremely guilty. He believes that the police have no evidence on him and that they can't make him confess. But will he succumb to his guilt, or will he conquor his demons? There is a lot more to it than that but I do not wish to give more away.

I was very pleased with Patrick Dempsey's performance as Rodya, and the performace of his best friend. In fact I was pleased with all of the performances here. Although some of them were not fantastic I don't think there were any terrible ones.



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older