This is a journalism biopic with a purpose. Set in the early 1930s in London, Moscow, and the steppes of Ukraine, it tells the story of young freelance journalist Gareth Jones and his investigation into how Stalin financed his five-year plans by starving Ukraine to export its wheat. This was better known as the Holodomor of 1932-1933.
Initially, we meet Gareth Jones (James Norton) making a presentation to advisors of David Lloyd George (Kenneth Cranham) about a recent interview he had with the new German Chancellor, Adolf Hitler. He raises concerns about Hitler but is laughed off by the older men around the table. Jones is gifted in knowing four languages--English, French, German, and Russian.
Based on his interview coup with Hitler, Jones wants to go to Moscow to interview Josef Stalin to learn about the rapid economic expansion the world is hearing about. He particularly wants to know how Stalin is financing this expansion. He arrives in Moscow, begins to see signs of authoritarian control, and learns a good journalist friend, Paul Kleb (Marcin Czarnik), who wanted to talk to him about a big story, has been killed in a "robbery." He also discovers that established journalists like Pulitzer-Prize-winning Walter Duranty (Peter Sarsgaard) are okay with being restricted to Moscow and pass the time with drug-fueled orgies. However, Duranty's protegée, Ada Brooks (Vanessa Kirby), is more restrained and does provide Jones with valuable information.
Jones then sneaks out of Moscow to see Ukraine for himself. He discovers the stories of happy collective farms are untrue and sees starving people reduced to cannibalism and eating tree bark to survive. He is eventually arrested but is expelled from the Soviet Union because of his connection to Lloyd George.
He writes about man-made famine, but his articles are rebutted in papers like the New York Times by Walter Duranty. However, the Hearst papers do give Jones some publicity. He also persuades George Orwell (Joseph Mawle) of his truth, resulting in the book "Animal Farm." At the film's end, we learn that Jones was killed in 1935 in Inner Mongolia the day before his 30th birthday, probably at the behest of the Soviet NKVD.
"Mr. Jones" is an interesting movie despite the unfortunate title. The cinematography is striking almost fades to black and white when Jones is immersed in the famine in Ukraine. The story is made unnecessarily complex by introducing the George Orwell character; "Animal Farm" was not published until the 1940s. The biggest issue was the unnuanced clarity with which the producers approached the topic. There is evil, and there is good, and only the blind cannot see the truth. A memorable movie on this awful time in Ukraine's history is yet to be made.
Initially, we meet Gareth Jones (James Norton) making a presentation to advisors of David Lloyd George (Kenneth Cranham) about a recent interview he had with the new German Chancellor, Adolf Hitler. He raises concerns about Hitler but is laughed off by the older men around the table. Jones is gifted in knowing four languages--English, French, German, and Russian.
Based on his interview coup with Hitler, Jones wants to go to Moscow to interview Josef Stalin to learn about the rapid economic expansion the world is hearing about. He particularly wants to know how Stalin is financing this expansion. He arrives in Moscow, begins to see signs of authoritarian control, and learns a good journalist friend, Paul Kleb (Marcin Czarnik), who wanted to talk to him about a big story, has been killed in a "robbery." He also discovers that established journalists like Pulitzer-Prize-winning Walter Duranty (Peter Sarsgaard) are okay with being restricted to Moscow and pass the time with drug-fueled orgies. However, Duranty's protegée, Ada Brooks (Vanessa Kirby), is more restrained and does provide Jones with valuable information.
Jones then sneaks out of Moscow to see Ukraine for himself. He discovers the stories of happy collective farms are untrue and sees starving people reduced to cannibalism and eating tree bark to survive. He is eventually arrested but is expelled from the Soviet Union because of his connection to Lloyd George.
He writes about man-made famine, but his articles are rebutted in papers like the New York Times by Walter Duranty. However, the Hearst papers do give Jones some publicity. He also persuades George Orwell (Joseph Mawle) of his truth, resulting in the book "Animal Farm." At the film's end, we learn that Jones was killed in 1935 in Inner Mongolia the day before his 30th birthday, probably at the behest of the Soviet NKVD.
"Mr. Jones" is an interesting movie despite the unfortunate title. The cinematography is striking almost fades to black and white when Jones is immersed in the famine in Ukraine. The story is made unnecessarily complex by introducing the George Orwell character; "Animal Farm" was not published until the 1940s. The biggest issue was the unnuanced clarity with which the producers approached the topic. There is evil, and there is good, and only the blind cannot see the truth. A memorable movie on this awful time in Ukraine's history is yet to be made.