In Darkness - Movie Review

I have seen countless films about the holocaust. Almost all are moving. Some, like Schindler's List, can be life-changing. In Darkness is the former. It is an interesting film based on events from the book The Girl in the Green Sweater by Krystyna Chiger. This film made the final cut among the Best Foreign Film nominations for the 2012 Academy Awards. It lost to the Iranian film A Separation.

In Darkness recounts the tribulations of a small group of Jews from Lvov, Poland who survived the "final solution" in the sewers beneath the city. The Jews were assisted by a mercenary (and petty thief) named Leopold Socha (Robert Wieckiewicz) who hides them for money. Socha was a poorly paid sewer inspector who discovered the Jews and agreed to help them hide. Initially, Socha was paid for his services, bringing the small group food and finding them places to hide within the sewer.

Ultimately, the Jews run out of money. If Socha were merely a mercenary, he could have received a ransom for each of the Jews he turned in to authorities. Instead, he continues to risk his livelihood to continue aiding the Jews even after their money runs out. The relationship between Socha and "his Jews" slowly evolves as he begins to realize the sacred trust he has under taken in promising their safety. At the risk of losing his family, and possibly even his life, Socha gives in to his own need for redemption.

Robert Marshall adapted this screenplay from a book by David F. Shamoon, which tells the story of Krystyna Chiger and her family. The story has many compelling elements but seems to overreach. The characters are hard to keep track of at times and the many of the scenes were lifted from other successful films. Some might call that a tribute. I call it unimaginative. There was a scene early in the film where Socha is escaping through the woods following a burglary. While he is making his escape, he witnesses a group of naked Jews running from soldiers who ultimately gun them down. They even throw in the obligatory classical music to create surrealism. The music components also felt forced and derivative. What begins as a simple, compelling story ends up like a gilded lily. Thirty minutes could easily have been cut from this film if it were simplified back to the basic story.

I found the cinematography and performances to be much better than the actual script. The plot was solid enough to allow the performances to make up for the indulgences in this film. I was unfamiliar with the cast, which allowed me to get absorbed into their performances without any preconceived bias. I thought Wieckiewicz was credible in his transformation from mercenary to savior. His even delivery gave his character stability, making him likable even from the beginning. His struggles were portrayed with conviction. The rest of the cast became somewhat muddled in subplots, but the performances were all solid. The look of the film combined with the acting helped this film overcome its other short-comings. The look of the period was exceptional.

In Darkness was aptly rated R by the MPAA. The film deals with difficult subject matter. The war violence includes the enormous civilian population of the ghetto. War films intend to be gory, but when the victims are women and children, it is always graphic to watch. The film also contained sexuality and nudity, some of which seemed gratuitous (or at least derivative). It served no purpose other than to try emulating other films. Those scenes felt forced to me. The violence and imagery of this film deserves an R rating, although it was contextual. The sexuality and nudity was not contextual and could have been left out of this film. This movie probably requires a mature teen audience as a starting point.

While I enjoyed In Darkness, I also felt it borrowed heavily from other films. Director Agnieszka Holland used a heavy hand in rendering this film. With a shorter, tighter script, the film would have been much better. Instead, we get sidetracked with meaningless subplots and derivative imagery. This film has its own story to tell. But that story was watered down with too many other distractions. A solid film, marginally worthy to compete with the other films nominated for Best Foreign Film in 2012. 7.5/10.