Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Leviathan Blu-ray Movie Review

It's always darkest under the shadow of corruption.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 29, 2015

Few films prove so capable of blending beauty and tragedy as well as Leviathan, Director Andrey Zvyagintsev's Russian-language film that tells the story of a man forced to live under the boot of backdoor oppression with no escape to its whims of stomping down on him as it sees fit and always to its benefit. A story of personal tragedy brought on by corruption at the top, problems at home, and the character's own inherent fiery and combative attitude, the film offers a bleak, often hopeless look at life that is in many ways the antithesis of the cheerier, positive, go-get-'em sorts that champion largely empty platitudes about living life to the fullest or standing up for what's right. Life doesn't always -- if ever -- work that way. Leviathan takes the idea into full reverse and offers a vision of overwhelming bleakness, and it's a refreshing dose of honesty in a film world that's too often too cheery and phony, playing on the emotions of the moment and basic human hope rather than providing a more realistic view of the way the world works.

We're not leaving.

Kolya (Aleksei Serebryakov) is in some trouble. A corrupt local mayor (Roman Madyanov) has pegged his small lot of land -- about two-thirds of an acre -- as the perfect spot to build the city's new communication center. But Kolya has deep roots on the spot of land, not to mention a business and a home he shares with his son Roma (Sergey Pokhodaev) and wife Lilia (Elena Lyadova). He's getting a payout, but he's not pleased with the amount, and he's not happy with the entire process. He calls upon an old friend named Dmitri (Vladimir Vdovichenkov), now a lawyer working out of Moscow, for help. Dmitri digs up a hefty file full of dirt on the mayor that he uses against him when the hearing doesn't go Kolya's way. But one thing they're all about to learn is that the drones don't mess with the top and get into a war they cannot win.

The film's plot grows ever more somber as it hurtles Kolya towards its conclusion and his fate. The darker themes and sense of hopelessness are constant companions that, even in some of the cheerier sections or moments when it appears Kolya may see a light at the end of the tunnel, are marked by an underlying sense of hopeless dread, accentuated by the movie's pervasive gray, bleak stylings. Indeed, the film's moody atmosphere helps shape the story well beyond its basic content, which is itself smart and precise but accentuated by Andrey Zvyagintsev's keen eye for easy and precise cinematic landscaping that serves to emphasize the overpowering bleakness without feeling as if he's forcing the issue. The story is told with care and subtlety, hitting hard when necessary but slowly building through gradual reveals and new dynamics that, ultimately, all point in the same thematic direction.

The movie is intimate in scope -- its focus is a small town inhabited by small men in the grand scheme of things, which includes even those at the top -- but feels larger than it should, playing with an unmistakable larger context that emphasizes a broader look at the human condition by way of intimate isolation. The picture's embodiment of grim hopelessness has a certain universality to it, but even as the movie maneuvers through the trenches of Kolya's life, where every turn leads only to more hopelessness, it does so without some off-putting sense of pity for the character. The film's greatest asset, arguably, is its focus, its refusal to compartmentalize, its brutal honesty that plays without gross, unbelievable plot twists that come just for the sake of further beating down the character. In lesser hands, some of the story details would undoubtedly feel less connected and more like something out of the book of Job, a Biblical story that plays a central part in the film's thematic movement in its final act. In Leviathan, Zvyagintsev's confident, effortless touch keeps the movie feeling purposeful and steady even in its darkest moments, which come towards the end. As it moves toward that end, the movie feels less like it's headed for the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel but rather away from that light until it's completely gone, lost in the distance from it and the blackness that surrounds the now ever-lost soul who has been forced further and deeper away from it.

Leviathan isn't so much a character-driven movie as it is story-, theme-, and mood-driven, but the characters represent it well and are shaped by strong performances that underscore the greater pieces around them. Aleksey Serebryakov impresses as the lead, portraying an embattled character who practically decays in front of the audience as he fights a hopeless battle against those who would see him ruined. He's combative and feisty but seems to understand, and maybe even accept, the underlying hopelessness of his situation. The film benefits from a fantastic sense of real togetherness between its leads, which doesn't necessarily mean camaraderie but rather chemistry and deep, long-lasting, lived-in relationships that add a necessary depth of scale and scope to their plight, to Kolya's marriage, his relationship with his son, and his dealings with Dmitri. The cast melts into the parts, practically becoming part of the larger environment by way of its near total tonal reflection of the world. Roman Madyano is also terrific as the antagonistic mayor.

Leviathan Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Leviathan's 1080p transfer is a hit-or-miss affair. In brighter, well-lit daytime scenes, it looks quite nice, with solid, effortless detail and robust color. Its best comes in chapter seven at an outdoor get-together and shoot. The terrain looks tactile and textured, clothes precise, and faces complex. Lower light sequences, of which there are many, lack that same level of definition and color stability. In these instances, details go noticeably smooth and flat with only basic facial, clothing, and support textures coming through. Rock faces are smooth and smeary, old paint and wood details are dull, and faces are flat. The image is frequently murky and not always well defined, a quality that extends to the drab color palette that lacks intimate nuance. Black levels, in these scenes, tend to struggle by pushing purple and appearing soupy and struggling with depth and definition. Some noise interferes at times, but the image is otherwise free of intrusive eyesores.

Leviathan Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Leviathan's native Russian language DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack yields a positive listening experience. Music enjoys easy front end spacing, a nice weight at the bottom, and solid definition throughout the range. Crashing waves potently spill into the listening area, all but soaking the stage and presenting with a real, nearly tangible sense of power and scale that helps define the picture's thematic backdrop. The track features plenty of well placed effects; a train drifts along side speakers, its breaks squealing as it stops at a platform. A heavy knock rattles the left side of the stage. Gunshots ring out with a nice, effortless, authoritative punch and a welcome, lingering echoing sensation floating through the stage. Lesser but no less critical ambient effects, like creaking floorboards or gentle exterior ambience, are naturally realistic. Dialogue is presented with consistent clarity and front-center placement.

Leviathan Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Leviathan contains a thirty-minute featurette, a commentary, deleted scenes, and a chat with the director.

• Audio Commentary: Director Andrey Zvyagintsev and Producer Alexander Rodnyansky discuss the score, the picture's themes, character construction and portrayal, plot specifics and the movie's evolution in story and themes, and much more. This is a good, informative track that fills in a good deal of information, both broad and intimate. In Russian with optional English subtitles.
• The Making of Leviathan (1080p, 29:27): A fascinating series of raw on-set moments, including scene construction, technical set-up, rehearsals, make-up and wardrobe preparation, challenges on the set, prop creation, and more.
• An Evening at the Toronto International Film Festival with Andrey Zvyagintsev (1080i, 15:04): TIFF Programer Cameron Bailey introduces the director, who speaks in Russian and through a translator. He fields a few questions after a screening. With optional English subtitles.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 22:18).
• Leviathan Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:03).
• Previews (1080p): Additional Sony titles.

Leviathan Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Leviathan is a film built around a somber tone that takes shape as it peers into the inescapable shadow of oppression and the common man's unchanging status as a pawn in a larger game out of his control. It's bleak but beautiful, a harrowing yet captivating story of real-world life that's brutally honest, perhaps a little more extreme and morose than some audiences would be comfortable watching, but it's a wonderful film with a lot to say about the world in which man lives. Sony's Blu-ray release of Leviathan offers good video, solid audio, and a well-rounded collection of extras. Recommended.