Elena (2012)
Starring Nadezhda Markina (Elena), Andrey Smirnov (Vladimir), Elena Lyadova (Katerina), and Aleksey Rozin (Sergey)
Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev
***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***
What a waste of time this was. Director and co-screenwriter Andrey Zvyagintsev paces this thing so damn slow that it took me three sittings to make it through this one. Our title character (played by Nadezhda Markina) has recently married her husband Vladimir (Andrey Smirnov) and as they spend their golden years together (both are presumably older than sixty), they seem to be together strictly for companionship rather than love. Both Elena and Vladimir have adult children. Vladimir's daughter Katerina (Elena Lyadova) has no relationship with her father, but Vladimir chalks it up to her sowing her wild oats. Elena's son Sergey (Aleksey Rozin) is married with a newborn and teen son, the latter of whom is faced with the proposition of being forced to join the Russian army since he doesn't have money to go to college. Elena begs her husband to give Sergey the money to further his education, but he refuses. When a health issue sidelines Vladimir, Elena decides to take things into her own hands to make sure that her family is taken care of.
The premise is certainly promising, but the film is a slog to get through, dragging on for much too long and paced mind-numbingly slow. The director chooses to utilize some long takes, but thet do nothing to enhance the film -- watching Elena clean her house in an extended shot doesn't do anything to shape the film's overarching plot. I'm flabbergasted by the fact that this film won a top prize at Cannes in 2011, but it obviously shows that Europeans are fans of the blasé.
The RyMickey Rating: D
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