Mr. Jones is the last film I managed to experience at the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival. Directed by Agnieszka Holland (Europa Europa) and starring James Norton (McMafia), Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible - Fallout) and Peter Sarsgaard (Garden State). This historical thriller revolves around the independent journalist Gareth Jones (Norton) in the early 1930s travelling to the Soviet Union attempting to find out the secret to Stalin's economic success. What he finds is beyond any horror he could ever imagine. What unfolds is fight for survival, truth and integrity. There is a very solid cast in this film, Norton delivers a fantastic performance in the title role giving charisma, making him a relate-able figure to audiences. Kirby plays a mysterious agent that is involved with the sinister disappearance of a fellow journalist. Sarsgaard plays a washed up Brit who found success in Stalin's Soviet Union and may be the stand out in this entire cast. Even all the minor actors give terrific performances allowing us to be drawn into this world. The main feeling I had however while watching this picture was a very similar feeling I had with films like Darkest Hour, Jackie, The Iron Lady or J Edgar. They feel like a Wikipedia article, interesting and important material but a essential emotional connection is missing. I was an observer of this world the film presented, but I wanted to be apart of it. The problem was that the film was very uneven giving us unnecessary information. We are forced to pay attention and can not allow emotions to sink in, therefore I was left cold for the majority of the picture. That's not to say there aren't any strong moments in the film, towards the second act, Jones is forced to travel in through the snowy ice desert of Siberia (not to spoil too much). The way this sequence is shot, with many wide shots showcasing the vast emptiness, including the sounds of the wind made me feel like I was freezing to death in a warm cinema. There are truly scary revelations in this sequence of the film and Norton delivers a great performance in these scenes but there simply weren't enough of them. If the film decided to make this less about Jones himself and more about the case, this would have been one of the greatest thrillers I would have seen in a while. However as it stands, Mr. Jones is a watchable film with a very great visual presentation and good performances. However the film also lacks a emotional connection that hurts the experience.
Review of Mr. Jones
