RIDLEY SCOTT PRODUCED FILM “CHILD 44” OPENS TODAY (APRIL 29) AT AYALA MALLS CINEMAS

Press release

 From blockbuster and acclaimed filmmaker Ridley Scott comes a chilling action drama “Child 44” based on Tom Rob Smith’s best-selling novel of the same titled starred in by Hollywood’s most admired actors headed by Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Noomi Rapace, Vincent Cassel, Joel Kinnaman and Jason Clarke about an unlikely hero amidst desperate times.

                Orphan-turned-war-hero Leo Demidov (Hardy) has risen through the ranks of the MGB, the state’s domestic security apparatus, to become a star investigator of dissident activity. When he and sadistic colleague Vasil (Kinnaman) capture suspected spy Anatoly Tarasovich Brodsky (Clarke), the “traitor” names Leo’s own wife, beautiful schoolteacher Raisa (Rapace), as a co-conspirator.

                Forced to investigate Raisa on suspicion of treason, Leo also takes on the case of a boy found carved up alongside railroad tracks. Despite evidence to the contrary, Leo describes the death as an accident to the boy’s father, MGB Agent Alexei Andreyev (Fares Fares) because Stalinist decree dictates, “There is no crime in Paradise.”  

                When Leo refuses to denounce his wife, MGB Commander Major Kuzmin (Vincent Cassel) exiles the couple to the grim industrial city of Volsk. Confined to a one-room hovel and stripped of rank, Leo and Raisa learn that dozens of other dead boys have suffered gruesome “accidents” near railroad tracks under almost identical circumstances as Alexei’s son. Teaming with local Police Chief General Nesterov (Oldman), they sneak back to Moscow and pursue clues before zeroing in on mild-mannered factory worker Vladimir Malevich (Paddy Considine).

                Desperate to rein in his former colleague, the increasingly psychotic Vasili tries to stop Leo and Raisa before they catch the child murderer, who has no place in Stalin’s supposedly crime-free Communist society. In the end, only one man survives the spectacular forest showdown between hero, pedophile and bureaucrat. But despite the victims and the damage done, the Soviet State remains immune to Leo’s inconvenient truths.

                The author’s fans include Oscar®-winning filmmaker Ridley Scott. Galvanized by Child 44’s rich characterizations and epic scope, Scott arranged nine years ago to meet the novelist at his London production headquarters. “It was slightly surreal,” recalls Smith. “I’d gone from having this project I thought might not even get published to talking to Ridley Scott in his office sitting next to a Gladiator sword and a prop from Alien. Ridley was full of incredible ideas for the project.”

                Scott initially intended to direct Child 44 himself. Then he saw Swedish director Daniel Espinosa’s 2010 crime thriller Snabba Cash (aka Easy Money). The highest-grossing movie in Swedish history, Snabba Cash showcased Espinosa’s inventively staged action sequences and stylish editing.  In Child 44, Espinosa saw an opportunity to blend visceral action sequences with psychologically nuanced character arcs against a rich historic tapestry, thus a thrilling and engaging masterpiece was produced.

                “Child 44” opens April 29 exclusive at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide.  Log on to www.sureseats.com for schedule. 

TOM HARDY IN A RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF A KILLER IN “CHILD 44”

Press release

Tom Hardy, known for memorable portrayals in “The Dark Knight Returns” as the evil Bane, a violent convict in “Bronson,” a volatile bartender in “The Drop” and scene stealing roles in “Inception,” “RocknRolla” and “This Means War,” stars and shines anew in “Child 44,” produced by Ridley Scott, a film filled with a stellar cast of truly gifted actors and filmmakers – Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman, Noomi Rapce, Vince Cassel and Jason Clarke.

                Hardy takes on the role of Leo Demidov in ”Child 44,” based on the best-selling novel by Tom Rob Smith of the same title.  Leo is an orphan turned war-hero in Stalinist Russia who eventually lost his status as a ranking official when he refused to denounce his wife, Raisa (Rapace) and has since then under the grueling watch of rival psychopath Vasili (Kinnaman), who are bent to put the couple down whatever it takes.  Leo as part of the MGB, the Soviet intelligence agency in the 1950s has uncovered lies behind the series of killings of young boys across the Soviet Union, which the agency masked under the Stalinist belief that ‘There is no crime in paradise.’  Fuelled by his innate moral dictate, Leo, despite being stripped of his status from the agency pursues the serial killer, discovering a total 44 victims (boys) killed across the country.  

                Leo, an unlikely hero in an adventure of such grand historical scope in “Child 44” is played to the hilt by Hardy who was attracted to the moral complexity of his character.  Further, he is equally thrilled to reunite and work again with Rapace whom he also starred with in “The Drop.”  The filmmakers are unanimous in casting Hardy for their unlikely hero who is capable of handling the script’s demanding emotional and physical range, from quiet dramatic moments to brutal action sequences. They also needed someone who could subtly express the protagonist’s inner conflicts as he struggles to find his humanity in an inhuman situation.

                “Child 44’s” 15-week shoot took place over the summer of 2013 in the Czech Republic. The capital city of Prague doubled for Cold War-era Moscow. Prague’s beautiful old National Theatre and the Rudolfinum, a neo-Renaissance concert hall, were used to shoot scenes in which the elite group of MGB officers and their wives watch “Swan Lake” performed by Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet. In cooperation with the Czech Republic’s Cinematography Fund, director Espinosa worked closely with Roelfs to secure as many period-specific locations as possible. “Prague and the Czech Republic had the best mix of Soviet-style architecture from the 1950s and 1960s within one hour of the city center and a highly experienced crew base,” says executive producer Adam Merims.

Contrasted with Moscow’s urban splendor is the grimy village of Vosk, where the exiled Leo and Raisa first meet Nesterov. A “ghastly, dirty, filthy industrial sort of swamp,” as Beaven describes it, Vosk is the desolate outpost where non-conformists are forced to live as punishment for deviating from Communist Party groupthink.

“Child 44’s” climactic showdown in Rostov at the Rostelmach Factory, home base for the serial killer, was shot amid the industrial landscapes of Králuv Dvur and Hrádek u Rokycan. “The world that Daniel gives you is so authentic that it actually does a great deal of the work for you,” Oldman says.