The
curious thing about the writing-directing debut of Russian filmmaker Kirill
Sokolov’s ultraviolent black comedy of family matters Why Don’t You Just
Die! is how strongly it appeals to western filmgoers despite being so firmly
rooted in Moscow home life. Paying
homage to everyone from Sergio Leone to Sam Raimi with even a little room left
for Wong-Kar Wai of all people, this wild, supercharged slice of splatter mayhem
as gallows humor is clearly thinking outside its continent of origin. Just minutes into this funny/scary ride of a
film, the infamous Wilhelm Scream comes on the soundtrack. For a distinctly Russian set horror comedy, its
uniquely western in influences and style.
It’s
the story of young Matvey (Aleksandr Kuznetsov) whose girlfriend Olya (Evgeniya
Kregzhde) implores him to murder her father Andrey (Vitaliy Khaev). Descending upon her parents’ apartment armed
with a claw hammer, Matvey quickly finds himself cracking open a far bigger can
of worms than he initially bargained for when its revealed her father is in
fact a trained cop who won’t go down so easily.
Immediately setting the stage for an extended cat and mouse fight with
frequent bloodletting, some truly cringeworthy moments of gross-out comedy-horror
and more than a few tricks up its sleeve even I didn’t see coming.
For
a young first-time writer-director, Why Don’t You Just Die! is an
impressive, confident debut proudly wearing influences upon its sleeves while
demonstrating its own skillful audiovisual techniques both classical and
modern. Against a low budget, the film
is visually striking thanks to arresting cinematography by Dmitriy Ulyukaev who
films the enclosed spaces of the apartment with a sense of dynamic vastness. Some of the most colorful sequences in the
film occur in tight close-ups for instance.
Boasting
an even grander original soundtrack by Vadim Karpenko and Sergey Solovyov. Not content to draw just from Ennio Morricone,
the score leaves ample room for synth electronic pop with an eclectic mixture
of domestic and international tunes. In
one of the film’s many brutal battles drenched in blood and gore, the
soundtrack kicks in with the very English chorus “f**k you!” chanted
repeatedly. Pretty clearly the intended
listening audiences for this film aren’t exclusive to Russia.
The
film wouldn’t work, of course, without the strengths of the two leads,
Aleksandr Kuznetsov and Vitaliy Khaev.
With much of the film fought by them, both actors wind up going out on a
limb in roles that call for tense physical acting. You wonder from time to time whether or not
either of them sustained an injury filming this. Kuznetsov, a trained acrobat himself, does an
incredible amount of stuntwork while also imbuing the hapless boyfriend caught
in the middle with a degree of sympathy, donned in a Batman hoodie with
a trusty hammer at his side.
Khaev
as the boorish, formidable, hulking beast of a father is an intimidating
physical presence who also manages to be very funny in the ways he tries to
warn Matvey ahead of time fighting him won’t end well. Rounding out the cast is Michael Gorevoy,
known to western filmgoers for Die Another Day and Bridge of Spies,
as Andrey’s longtime partner, completing the film's international appeal as well as providing a strong contrast to Khaev's character.
Yes
the film is unrealistically, outrageously over-the-top and many of the film’s
twists and turns border on the incredulous.
It’s a comic book film of sorts with some scenes, brilliantly edited
also by director Sokolov, outright parodying the comic book picture’s hyperkinetic
visual style. While a bit overstuffed
with the twists and turns thrown at the viewer and somewhat nihilistic in tone,
Why Don’t You Just Die! for my money was an engaging international
comedy-horror thrill ride and a solid debut from a gifted cinematic newcomer.
--Andrew Kotwicki
