Line #26 Film/Child44


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mv5bmtk1ntkxotc5nl5bml5banbnxkftztgwodi0ntg0nde_v1_sx640_sy720.jpg]]
2
3	''Child 44'' is a 2015 mystery thriller film, based on the novel by Tom Rob Smith, which was loosely based on the real-life murders by the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Chikatilo "Rostov Ripper"]]. It was directed by Creator/DanielEspinoza and stars Creator/TomHardy, Creator/NoomiRapace, Creator/GaryOldman, Creator/JasonClarke, Creator/VincentCassel, Creator/PaddyConsidine and Creator/MarkLewisJones.
4
5	Leo Demidov is a Soviet war hero and member of the Ministry of State Security (MGB). When the child of his friend is found brutally killed by the train tracks, the State officially declares the death an "accident"; for you see, murder is only a capitalist disease and thus would never happen in the USSR. After a series of similar deaths occur in the surrounding area, it becomes quite clear that they are dealing with a serial killer. Demidov, however, takes it upon himself to solve these crimes, even as the State tries to sweep it under the rug.
6	----
7	!!This Film Contains Examples Of:
8
9	%%* ArcWords: "There is no murder in paradise."
10	* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Leo and Raisa have a rather strained relationship through much of the movie, but they eventually grow to care for one another, work together to solve the mystery surrounding the dead children, and end up adopting two children at the end of the film.
11	* BelievingYourOwnLies: No Soviet official is willing to admit that a murderer is on the loose, because the USSR is paradise and "there's no murder in paradise."
12	* BigBadDuumvirate: The serial killer and Vasili.
13	* BoomHeadshot: The serial killer, and the parents of the two young girls at the beginning of the film.
14	* CallBack: Early in the film, Vasili executes the parents of two young girls, much to Leo's dismay. At the end of the film, Leo and his wife find the two girls and adopt them.
15	* TheCameo: Creator/CharlesDance appears at the end as an official of the MGB.
16	* ColdBloodedTorture: Anatoly, and later [[spoiler: Leo]], are given TruthSerum and tortured for information. [[LampshadeHanging Some of the characters acknowledge that the method is not reliable]].
17	* CommieLand: Takes place in the Russian SSR. The opening briefly shows the Ukrainian SSR.
18	* ChummyCommies: Leo Demidov, Alexei Andreyev and General Nesterov would qualify.
19	* DeceasedFallGuyGambit: Leo tells the authorities that the serial killer was responsible for [[spoiler: Vasili's]] death, [[FramedForHeroism while also claiming that Vasili was a hero and saved their lives]].
20	* {{Determinator}}:
21	** Leo. Exiled, demoted, tortured, attacked and almost killed while he can barely stand and then forced to jump off a moving train afterwards so none of the other passengers can finish the job, and he still manages to track down the killer responsible for the deaths of the young boys. After all of ''that'', he gets stabbed in the side during the climatic fight, and still gets back on his feet to finish [[spoiler: Vasili]].
22	** Raisa qualifies as well, as she endures everything that Leo endured and doesn't leave his side.
23	* DeathOfAChild: Young boys are disappearing and turning up dead with no explanation.
24	* DirtyCommunists: The main characters are all members of the Soviet internal security forces. However, Vasili and the GreaterScopeVillain Major Kuzmin really fit into this.
25	* DoubleSpeak: Alexei Andreyev eventually agrees to go along with the party line that his son died in a tragic accident, not a murder.
26	* DrowningMySorrows: Implied, but subverted. After witnessing the aftermath of Alexander's suicide, Leo is shown drinking from a bottle down by the railroad tracks that night, but shortly after, he reveals to Raisa that he's actually worked out that the murders are connected and is trying to figure out how to prove it.
27	* EyeScream: When they're attacked on the train, Raisa claws at the eyes of one of the men attacking Leo.
28	* FakePregnancy: Raisa tells Leo that she's expecting a baby so that he won't denounce her.
29	* ForcefulKiss: One of the thugs on the train kisses Raisa while holding her at knife-point. She responds by biting his lip, ripping away viciously (drawing blood), and then headbutting him in the face.
30	* FreudianExcuse: The killer is an orphan, like Leo, and was traumatized by his experiences in the orphanage.
31	--> "You knew what you were doing and you chose to do it. But me? I can't help it. ''I can't.''"
32	* GayngstInducedSuicide: Homosexuality is a crime in Russia; Alexander, the young ticketmaster, steps in front of a train the day after being forced to give up the names of several other homosexuals.
33	* GreaterScopeVillain: Major Kuzmin, as he is Vasili's co-conspirator and superior.
34	* HeWhoFightsMonsters: At the end of the film, Leo worries this has happened to him but Raisa reassures him that it hasn't.
35	* InspirationNod: The scene of Alexei's son playing by the train tracks by laying a coin and some spoons on them for the train to run over, with it then being revealed he's already in the presence of the killer, is extremely similar to a scene from ''Film/CitizenX'', another movie based on Andrei Chikatilo.
36	* JustAStupidAccent: All of the characters speak Russian accented English.
37	* MeetCute: Subverted. This is what Leo ''thinks'' their first meeting was, and that Raisa only gave him a fake name because she was being coy. [[spoiler: She doesn't tell him until years later that it was actually because she could tell he was MGB and she was terrified of him.]]
38	* MudWrestling: Non-{{Fanservice}} example. During the final fight, Leo and [[spoiler: Vasili]] roll down a hill and then continue struggling in the large puddle of mud at the bottom. Raisa gets in on the action shortly after.
39	* TheNeidermeyer: Vasili, especially in the World War II opening in which, in contrast to the courageous and valorous Leo Demidov, who actually fought in the Reichstag, Vasili just [[DirtyCoward hides away from combat]]. Then when the action shifts to 1953, Vasili attempts to abuse his power of authority by inflicting brutality to anyone that opposes the Stalin rule, such as Vasili's execution of the little girls' parents much to Leo's dismay.
40	* PrettyLittleHeadshots: Averted. There's a fairly graphic blood spray every time someone is shot in the head.
41	* RankUp: Averted. [[spoiler: After catching the killer, and killing Vasili, Leo is offered a new senior position in state security, with the potential for political advancement. He declines, and instead asks to be placed in charge of the Moscow homicide unit]].
42	* TheReveal: Raisa drops several in one scene. [[spoiler: First she tells Leo that she's [[FakePregnancy not expecting a child]]. Then she tells him that their "MeetCute" was a nightmare for her. ''Then'' she tells him that the only reason she agreed to marry him was because she was afraid of what would happen to her if she refused.]] He looks devastated by the end of the scene.
43	* SayMyName: Leo yells Vasili's name twice during the climatic fight scene, apparently for no other reason than to help the audience keep track of which extremely mud-splattered character is which.
44	* SerialKiller: The killer drugs his victims then drowns them through waterboarding.
45	* SecretPolice / StateSec: The MGB (the predecessor to the KGB), whose job is to find people whose loyalty is in question.
46	* SherlockScan: Raisa deduces that one of the MGB agents at the train station in Moscow is unable to read, simply from observing him for a few moments.
47	%%* SmugSnake: Vasili.
48	* TheSociopath: Vasili. He's ready to kill his former colleague and anyone who opposes the Stalin regime just to make career. He also never shows care for the children murders.
49	* TheStarscream: Vasili. After taking away Leo's house and job, he takes pleasure in hunting down his former MGB colleague, who he sarcastically calls "my big brother", when he and his wife are labeled fugitives from justice, all to gain his own glory like Leo got his during the Second World War.
50	* SuicideByCop: Averted. Anatoly tries this with Leo, but Leo refuses to shoot him, [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled so Anatoly steals his knife and tries to disembowel himself instead]].
51	* SureLetsGoWithThat: When at the end, it is stated that the serial murderer was actually a Nazi agent (since obviously no Soviet citizen could do such things unless subverted by the enemy), Leo is willing to concede, so long as it means the authorities admit other such "agents" may exist, and he has the freedom to investigate cases of them "going active".
52	* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: Vasili calls Raisa a bitch while punching her in the face.
53	* TokenGoodTeammate: In contrast to the heartless brutality of most of his comrades such as Vasili, Leo is moral and sincerely good-intentioned in his duty as an officer. Also see ChummyCommies above.
54	%%* TragicVillain: [[spoiler: The serial killer]].
55	* VomitIndiscretionShot: Narrowly averted. After witnessing Anatoly's attempt to disembowel himself during their struggle, Leo rolls over and heaves violently in front of the camera, but manages not to puke.
56	* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: The cast's FakeRussian accents sound nothing like Russians speaking English.
57	%%* WouldHurtAChild: The premise of the film.
58	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Vasili shoots [[spoiler: Alexei]] in the back after learning where Leo likely went.

Context Film / Child44