[6]
William Hurt (Body Heat, The Accidental Tourist) stars as a Russian police investigator who uncovers an international conspiracy while pursuing a grisly triple murder case. Brian Dennehy (First Blood) plays an American adversary-turned-ally, while Lee Marvin co-stars as the prime suspect, a wealthy trader of highly valuable Siberian sable furs. Joanna Pacula rounds out the leading cast as a femme fatale romantic interest for Hurt’s character, a woman closely connected with the three young victims who holds onto secrets Hurt tries desperately to wrench from her.
Based on a bestseller by Martin Cruz Smith and directed by Michael Apted (Coal Miner’s Daughter, Thunderheart), Gorky Park is a brooding procedural that begins a bit sluggishly but picks up steam in its second half. While Hurt struggles with his Russian accent, supporting players Dennehy, Marvin, and Pacula all give strong performances. Supporting player Ian McDiarmid (Return of the Jedi‘s evil Emperor) gives the most memorable performance as a wonderfully ghoulish scientist who helps Hurt reconstruct the visages of the three murder victims, who were discovered with their faces sliced away. Composer James Horner serves up a distinctive orchestral/synth score that combines traditional Russian music with rhythmic chase passages.
While the film works for the most part, the romance between Hurt and Pacula is never as palpable as it needs to be. The film also loses much of its potential suspense for revealing its mystery too early on, opting instead for a second act in which Hurt endeavors to prove a theory which, indeed, turns out to be true.
With Ian Bannen and Harry Potter‘s Richard Griffiths.