Film: Velvet Revolution
Release date: 1st November 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 111 mins
Director: Oleg Stepchenko
Starring: Alexey A. Petrukhin, Aleksey Kravchenko, Aleksandr Karpov, Oleg Taktarov, Michael Madsen
Genre: Action/Crime/Drama
Studio: Scanbox
Format: DVD
Country: Russia
Fledgling Russian director Stepchenko tackled that ‘difficult second movie’ phase with this frenetic crime film. Delving deep into the soviet drug trade, his film is a curious mix of action and film noir.
Major Vershinin is a cop dedicated to toppling the crime in his district. A loose cannon with a dark past, he focuses all his energies on the capture of two mob lieutenants, Pike and Rock.
After a botched operation at an American football game, Vershinin begins to doubt his own capabilities, and suspects someone has been plotting against him - every step of the way.
Vershinin must contend with a drug addled wife and his daughter’s hedonistic lifestyle, while at the same time attempting to thwart the plans of crime kingpin Kurkov and his dealings with an American drug lord and a mysterious benefactor. He must do this under the watchful eye of Suvorovtsev, a new partner assigned to keep him in check...
Michael Madsen used to be a big pull back when the memories of psychopathic killer Mr. Blonde (Reservoir Dogs) were still fresh in the collective film going mind. Now his presence on the cast list of any film usually indicates a production lacking in quality. This may seem like unfair stereotyping of a jobbing actor, but, sure enough, Velvet Revolution starts off with a short cameo from Madsen and from then on, it’s all downhill.
Attention deficit editing makes the films opening act nigh on unbearable for anyone wanting any semblance of story or character introduction. Stepchenko bombards us with firecracker imagery and lightning fast location changes handled with all the finesse of a golf club to the head (which may or may not happen in the film’s opening moments, it all depends on your ability to not blink).
The film slows down a bit as we are introduced to Vershinin, who is played with little subtlety by Aleksey Kravchenko. This is a considerable shame because it is Kravchenko who so impressed in the 1985 masterpiece Come And See - here he uncomfortably spits out samples of the hackneyed script and makes an occasional stab at playful comedy.
Velvet Revolution’s key failing is its confused identity. Vershinin’s world-weary narration and troubled family life have an air of noir-ish cop drama, while interludes of playful bickering between himself and Suvorovtsev suggest a buddy comedy. As the confused story draws on, we enter Bond-style action territory, complete with nefarious evil schemes and overblown action set pieces. It’s difficult to pin down the film’s motives, as most of the time it doesn’t seem to have any.
The cast are patchy across the board, with Kravchenko giving a confused central performance replete with forced emotional outbursts and posturing. Alexey Petruhkin is a bit more engaging, perhaps because the script requires nothing more from him than stoicism. Anna Chipovskaya and Viktoriya Tolstoganova are good value as Vershinin’s misanthropic daughter and junkie wife respectively, but they aren’t given enough screen time to make enough of an impact.
Action fans won’t be disappointed; explosions come thick and fast and serve to break the monotony. A skirmish in an underground drug lab is one particular highlight, which manages to throw an awkward phone conversation and a couple of chickens into the fray. It seems Stepchenko is adept at overseeing a great shootout, but flounders when it comes to orchestrating a decent exchange of dialogue.
Some solid action aside, Velvet Revolution fails to do anything but bore with its one-dimensional characters and convoluted plotting. There is a pre-credit dedication to those who “stand guard over the future of our children,” suggesting a message lost amidst all the frantic edits and bad acting - and highlighting the muddled tone of Stepchenko’s film. KT
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