How do you solve a crime in a society that refuses to admit that crime exists?
That is the dilemma faced by Viktor Burakov (Stephen Rea) in the fact-based film, Citizen X. Burakov is a forensic expert in the Soviet Union. In 1982, when a dead body is found on a collective farm, Burakov is assigned to investigate. When seven more bodies are discovered, Burakov is convinced that he is dealing with a serial killer. The problem is that the official Soviet position is that crime and, especially, serial murder are a product of western decadence. With his superiors refusing to accept that a serial killer could be active in the USSR, Burakov is driven to the point of insanity as he both tries to stop the murders and keep his job. Fortunately, he has the Machiavellian Col. Fetisov (Donald Sutherland) on his side but, even with Fetisov’s protection, Burakov is no closer to tracking down the murderer.
Citizen X is based on the crimes of Andrei Chikatilo. From 1978 to 1990, Chikatilo committed at least 57 murders, with several of his victims being young children. Though many were suspicious of him, Chikatilo was protected by both his membership in the Communist party and the government’s refusal to allow most of his crimes to be publicly reported. It was only during the reforms of Perestroika that authorities were allowed to thoroughly investigate Chikatilo’s crimes. Chikatilo was arrested in 1992 and executed, via a gunshot to the back of his head, in 1994. In Citizen X, Chikatilo is played by Jeffrey DeMunn, who gives a very good and disturbingly plausible performance as the monstrous killer.
Made for HBO, Citizen X is a low-key but thought-provoking recreations of not just Chikatilo’s crimes but the atmosphere that allowed him to go undetected, Along with DeMunn, both Rea and Sutherland give great performances. (Sutherland won an Emmy.) Max Von Sydow also appears, playing a psychologist who is given the unenviable task of trying to enter Chikatilo’s mind.
Advertisements Share this:
