Rasputin (1996)

“Before we can repent, we have to sin. ” – Grigori Rasputin

Number of Times Seen – 1 (28 Oct 2021)

Brief Synopsis – Biography of the Russian consultant and healer to the family of Tzar Nicolas II during the final years of his reign.

My Take on it – Intriguing that that just doesn’t work well enough.

The characters aren’t developed well enough and that makes it much harder to truly care about whatever will happen here.

Alan Rickman does a nice job in the title role and was able to win both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his performance here.

The pacing is far too slow and the churning way that it plays out just doesn’t manage to help keep things more engaging and entertaining in the way it all plays out.

The story leaves the true nature of the main character in a flux and they never quite give a definitive answer as to who he truly was which leaves things far too open ended.

In addition to Rickman, this film features Ian McKellan and Greta Scacchi, yet neither is able to help raise this film’s premise to a much higher and more meaningful level.

Not knowing the real history in the story is also problematic since they never quite give the viewer enough real information as to how all of these events transpired in actuality.

The lighting also doesn’t add much to this film and the dark feel for it all doesn’t help make things more enjoyable.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – John Wood (Pyotr Stolypin) previously played Colonel Kobylinsky in Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), which depicted many of the same events. (From IMDB)

Rating – Razzie Worthy (4/10)