Going as far back as Sergei Eisenstein’s Alexander Nevsky, Russian films have always struck me as being behind the times both in terms of their technical and artistic merits (with the honorable exception of Mikhail Kalatozov’s Cranes Are Flying). This film is no exception, though ultimately it manages to survive its primitiveness. There are certain scenes, thankfully not too many, which come dangerously close to seeming like a home video but with film quality picture.
Right from the start, as Anton approaches the witch’s apartment, there is something ordinary about the look of the film. Contrast it with the scene in Se7en where the two detectives pay a visit to a suspect in a rundown apartment building: the lighting is more appropriate, the location better serves the movie, and Fincher’s camera gets the most out of the scene. Or contrast it with a very similar scene in The Matrix, which like Se7en manages to get it right with a scene with similar technical and artistic demands.
In addition to the B-quality that the picture has at times, there are some aspects of the story that are a bit silly. Though the world is well detailed, there are things that might have been omitted. For instance, a couple of the Nightwatch prowl the city streets in an oversized yellow van which, when the time comes for rapid travel, shoots fire out its backside. In a movie which strives for a very Matrix-like feel, the comic effect of this van is toxic.
The only other real complaint I had was the nature of the camerawork itself. Many comparisons have been drawn between this movie and The Matrix, and I think there is some good reason for this. Much of the tricky camera work is similar, but whereas in the Wachowski Brothers’ masterpiece the camera work at all times aids in the telling of the story, in Nightwatch it occasionally gets in the way. There are times when the camera is tricky just for the sake of being tricky.
But it would be a mistake to make too much of the flaws and not dwell on what the filmmakers got right. The story is both imaginative and emotionally compelling. When the camera is not busy being too cutesy, the director manages to impart a style that works. The actors are talented, if not always well chosen for their roles, and the great effort put in to setting up the story does pay off with a climax that really satisfies. It is one of those endings where all the various parts come together in a whirlwind of drama and tension and finally, when all is said and done, one is left wanting the sequel, which has already come out in Russia.
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