BITE-SIZED REVIEW: Citizen X (Chris Gerolmo, 1995)

Based on the true story of Soviet-era serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, Citizen X tells the story of the men who spent a decade hunting him down.

A television film made by HBO in the mid-90s, Citizen X is a really great movie that deserves to be seen.

Stephen Rea is great as Lt. Viktor Burakov, a forensic specialist who is forced to become a one-man CSI in order to track the unknown killer down. Viktor is a classic everyman, a talented amateur in over his headwho is burdened not only by the horror of Chikatilo's crimes, but by the inability of the political establishment to accept that a serial killer is at work.

Donald Sutherland plays Mikhail Fetisov, this commanding officer - Sutherland leavens the local pol with humour and guile. He and Rea have a fascinating dynamic, as both men are divided in how to tackle the situation: While Fetisov is willing to appease the higher-ups, Viktor sees his political savvy as a counter-productive to stopping the killing.

Less stylish than recent serial killer films, Citizen X's more conventional formalism fits the film's intimate focus on the investigators and their elusive target (a pathetic, self-loathing portrayal from character actor Jeffrey DeMunn).

The film derives a lot of its power from the toll the investigation takes on Viktor. He is no conventional cinematic investigator - he is not hardened by the case, and the film is not built around him becoming more aggressive or physically assertive: in an early scene, he struggles to maintain composure while dictating the traumas suffered by one of Chikatilo's victims; in a later sequence he wakes his children for hug while sobbing.

In one of the film's most affecting scenes, Fetisov informs Viktor that the FBI are willing to offer him assistance, and regard him as one of the most talented and toughest people working in their field. Part of the scene's effectiveness is cumulative - we have spent the film's runtime watching Viktor struggle against the indifference of his superiors and the trauma of accounting for all the killer's victims. To have a moment of acknowledgement is incredibly cathartic.

The other aspect that makes it to so powerful is the understated way in which director Chris Gerolmo stages the action: in a simple wide shot of a seated Rea, we watch the full impact of Fetisov's words hit as Viktor falls apart. In such a quiet, restrained film, this eruption feels like what the film has been building towards.

Written and directed with pathos and restraint by Gerolmo, Citizen X is a deeply empathetic portrait of two men confronted by human evil, and how they overcome a lack of resources and offical endorsement to catch the killer.

If you are interested in more Bond-related content, check out the reviews below. You can also subscribe to the podcast I co-host, THE JAMES BOND COCKTAIL HOUR, available wherever you get your podcasts.