Pop Culture Buzz

*** 1/2 STARS

Before I watched the brilliant “Death Proof” this past weekend, David Cronenberg’s crime thriller masterpiece “Eastern Promises” was my new favorite film of 2007. Both films use gritty realism and cinematic tactics to create an all too real world depiction of violence without glamorizing the gore. The way these two films handle adult situations is not only artistically beautiful but also refreshing in its portrayal of violence without hype.

David Cronenberg is the master at this type of gory movie magic, his films are proof of this craft; “The Fly”, “Dead Ringers”, “Existenz”, “A History of Violence”, “Naked Lunch”. I look forward to every film he releases and now I look forward to each time he collaborates with Viggo Mortensen. Mortensen not only deserves an Oscar nomination for his role as a Russian mobster, but he may even deserve to get it with his gritty and very sexy performance. Mortensen has a raw intensity that is smoldering on the big screen. In this film his Russian accent and body tattoos only pepper an already extreme character portrayal.

Naomi Watts play Ana, a midwife at a London hospital, who finds a Russian-language diary on the body of a young woman who dies in childbirth. As Anna starts becoming attached to the dead woman’s baby she also becomes entangled in a web of dark secrets. In the process of trying to translate the mysterious diary she begins to risk the lives of her family members and herself. Along the way she can’t help but cross paths with Mortensen’s character resulting in an emotional and dramatic twist ending.

If you liked “The Departed” because it depicted a new side of the mafia genre, then you will love every minute of the exquisite “Eastern Promises”. Full of lush, sweeping camera shots and beautiful London scenery this dark film will keep you captivated. Cronenberg and Mortensen have crafted another wonderful adult thriller with brains for adults to enjoy, do not miss this film in theaters if you can!