A film that seems to have been beloved by genre fans over the past few decades, Mute Witness has long been on my viewing list. It wasn't always easy to get hold of though, a situation that has now completely changed, thanks to the fact that it can be found on streaming, as well as on a shiny disc release from Arrow Video. Maybe, just maybe, that easier availability will see people slightly re-appraising the film, and perhaps no longer viewing it as some lost classic.
The plot is quite simple. Marina Zudina (billed here under a slghtly different spelling of her surname, Sudina) plays Billy, a mute makeup artist working on a Moscow film set who ends up witnessing the making of a snuff film one evening. This leads to her being pursued by various members of a far-reaching criminal network, some who may also be in the police force, and the only people that may be able to help her are her sister, Karen (Fay Ripley), and Karen's boyfriend, Andy (Evan Rochards).
Written and directed by Anthony Waller, who followed this up with, ummmmm, An American Werewolf In Paris, this is a decent idea turned into a decidedly okay movie, but it's far from a classic blend of tension and darkness, although one or two moments (including the witness of the main murder) come close to brilliance. Things aren't helped by the fact that the cast has a couple of familiar British faces dropped into the middle of the Russian setting (Ripley being the main one, but there's also a jarring cameo from the wonderful Alec Guinness that feels exactly like the massive favour it clearly was), amplifying the feeling that most of the Russian players came directly from "Rent-A-Russian-Heavy Inc."
Zudina is good in the lead role, expressive and easy to root for, but she's only equalled by Oleg Yankovskiy (also credited with a different spelling of a surname, Jankowski), playing a man named Larsen who is enjoyably difficult to gauge for most of his screentime. Is he actually good, and able to help our lead, or is he yet another member of the crime ring? Ripley and Richards try their best, hampered by a script that wants to put them in peril while also keeping them generally safe enough to get to the third act, and most of the other cast members are suitably menacing, whether that's done deliberately or not.
While I appreciate that this was obviously put together with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, it's a shame that no one aspect of it feels as good as it could be. From the acting to the cinematography, from the music to the production design, you can almost feel the desperation to simply get the film made permeating every frame. While everyone involved can be proud of having actually completed a decent movie, I'm not surprised by the fact that I recognise so few of the names in the cast and crew (although it's worth noting that many have remained working in Russia, a cinematic region I cannot claim to be overly familiar with).
Anyway, to sum it all up, Mute Witness is good, but I don't think it came close to being great. Ironically enough, I'm bemused by how much time people have spent talking this one up since the mid-'90s.
6/10
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Never heard of it. Filming in Russia then was a good way to save money though it was probably dangerous with the chaos from the fall of communism.
ReplyDeleteIt has certainly held a decent reputation among horror fans as one of those lesser-known gems. I guess it was at least trying to do something a bit different.
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