The Execution (Movie Review)

Screened as a part of the 2021 Fantastic Fest

The Etruscans, a pre-roman civilization, are said to have had a method of torture/execution in which they tied a corpse to a living person and the two would slowly become one through the process of decay.(1)

In Lado Kvataniya's The Execution, the filmmaker offers an interrogation of whether there is any difference in the methods taken by two officers to solve a crime. The film poses the questions: is justice punishment and can vengeance ever be just? Or, are they becoming one through the decay of the system they "protect?"

The story follows Issa Valentinovich (Niko Tavadze) a recently minted police chief in 1991 Russia, as his world begins to crumble when a woman is attacked in a manner matching those of the serial killer he put behind bars. Much like the killer's methods, once this film gets going, it keeps twisting the knife and will not let go for an instant.

The movie is a Russian police procedural with a non-linear narrative told through shifting years and an overarching series of title cards that map onto the stages of grief. While helpful to dole out clues to the audience, these two competing framing devices can feel arbitrary and unnecessary at points. I did appreciate how flawlessly you eventually can tell the time periods apart due to the film's editing style. 

The movie is competent on every level. The cinematography lingers in delicious close-ups and includes one scene juxtaposing sex and torture. The music is string heavy and stresses the gravity of the scenes, but is a little forgettable. The acting simulates verisimilitude with Tazadze riding the line between realism and scenery chewing. The violence on screen is not for the faint of heart and the narrative deals with mental health, domestic violence, sexual assault, substance abuse, and torture so content warning for those. Especially if you were looking for a nuanced, realistic take on some of these issues.

Where The Execution suffers most is in its pacing and length. Clocking in at 2 hours and 17 minutes, you have to work to stay invested in the story or you will begin to lose interest. If you enjoy the process in your procedural then you will adore this film as it felt like an interesting look into how serial killer cases "were dealt with" in the former USSR. You might be able to figure out what is going on early if you are a fan of the genre, but the film offers a series of turns that will delight even the most jaded true crime fan.

Overall, I may have checked out a little in points, and had a few issues with plot contrivances, but I profoundly enjoyed the winding way Kvataniya and Olga Gorodetskaya weaved their tale. The Execution is a definite recommendation for that one friend you have that knows who Andrei Chikatilo was.

1. Negarestani, R. (1998). The Corpse Bride:  Thinking with Nigredo. The Thing. Retrieved September 25, 2021, from https://www.thing.net › ucsdPDF