The Russia House

The Russia House

I have been curious about The Russia House for a long time.  When I was younger, it seemed like my dream movie, starring two of my favorite actors at the time, Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer, written by Tom Stoppard (who wrote the amazing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead) and based on a book by superb novelist John Le Carre.  Plus, the production stills (like the one above) looked super cool.  How could this not be a great movie?

So then I graduated college and I found out my brother owned it on DVD.  I asked if I could borrow it and he said, "Sure, but watch out.  It's boring."  I was taken aback, my enthusiasm instantly waning.  After all, I trust my brother's opinion almost completely.  I put The Russia House on my shelf and said, "Maybe I'll watch you next week.  No, maybe the next week."

...Ten years later, I finally sat down and watched The Russia House, almost just to prove to myself that I could do it.  And sure enough, it's boring.  The tricky part is finding out why.  My expectations were not crazy.  I knew Le Carre didn't write action flicks and that his novels are realistic and slow, more about research, talking and bluffing than they are about sneaking about and shooting bad guys.  And the story of The Russia House is interesting.  Katya (Pfeiffer), acting on behalf of Soviet nuclear scientist Dante (Klaus Maria Brandauer) smuggles a complete portrait of the Soviet strategic situation to book publisher Barley Blair (Sean Connery) in hopes that he will publish it.  The manuscript raises a lot of questions.  Is it real or a plant?  More importantly, since it paints a pretty pathetic picture of the Soviet military, how will the West react?  You would think they would be happy about their enemy's weakness, but then again, how can they now justify their own defense spending?  Naturally, British secret service (represented by James Fox) and the CIA (represented by Roy Scheider) get involved.

Done right, this is all pretty interesting stuff.  But things are rocky from the very beginning, with much leaping back and forth in time in an attempt to be clever about the exposition.  The result isn't clever at all, but is confusing, badly edited, and bizarre.  The playing around with the timeline isn't even necessary and sticks out even more considering that they don't do anything like that again until the very end (and no, that's not a spoiler).  This opening isn't helped by an overacting Connery, who seems to be trying way too hard to distance himself from his reputation for awesomeness.

The confusion isn't intriguing; it is bothersome and lethargic and made me sleepy.  But things do brighten up a bit when Barley meets Katya.  Despite the age difference, their blossoming romance is very believable.  And Connery calms down a little bit and starts to really gel with the movie.  By the end of it, I was really enjoying his take on Barley.  In fact, I would even say the scene where he declares his love for Katya features some of the most honest acting of his career.

But for the most part, the movie just drags.  The fate of nations is at stake, lives are threatened, and I never once felt any sort of suspense or danger.  The movie just glides along, trying to coast on a fine cast that is unable to save the sinking ship.  Perhaps that is a bit harsh.  There is one scene, a really long scene, where the CIA question Barley at a small cabin.  With so much at stake, they need to know if Barley can be trusted.  It's a fascinating look at the questioning process, with good writing, acting, and directing.  Oh, if only the whole movie had been like this scene!  Pity.  And it is too little too late.  For the most part, the movie is just deadly dull.  And with the talent involved, it was a big disappointment.

MVP:

I am going to go with the fine English actor James Fox (Sherlock Holmes) as Barley's handler.  Perfectly affable and polite, he doesn't look or act like a spymaster.  And yet, he seems to understand what is happening before any other character in the movie because he is busy observing and not showboating.  His reactions to the CIA, especially the foul-mouthed Russell played by Scheider, are priceless: "Russell's metaphors are becoming rather scatological."  It was a big laugh, and it sealed the MVP award for him.  

BEST LINE:

Russell: How the fuck do you peddle an arms race when the only asshole you have to race against is yourself?

TRIVIA:  

The Russia House was the first major film production from the West to be filmed in the Soviet Union with full permission of the Soviet government.