Overview
- The film is now in theaters with reviews noting a restrained, analytical tone rather than a standard biopic.
- Olivier Assayas adapts Giuliano da Empoli’s bestseller into a political thriller co-written with Emmanuel Carrère.
- Paul Dano plays Wadim Baranow, an avant‑garde artist who rises to Kremlin influence as a media and narrative strategist.
- Jude Law portrays a Putin-like leader in a performance critics describe as controlled, with the focus kept on power mechanics.
- Reviews say the story traces Russia from the 1990s chaos to Crimea in 2014, using events like Moscow terror attacks, Sochi, and troll factories as waypoints.