Overview

• Assayas’ adaptation premiered today in Venice’s main competition, with Golden Lion winners to be announced on September 6.
• Jude Law said he did not fear reprisals for playing Putin and eschewed heavy impersonation by using his own voice and limited makeup.
• Olivier Assayas framed the film as an examination of 21st-century politics and the methods of contemporary authoritarianism.
• The drama adapts Giuliano da Empoli’s bestseller, centering on fictional Kremlin adviser Vadim Baranov, played by Paul Dano and inspired by strategist Vladislav Surkov.
• Critical reaction is mixed but repeatedly praises Law and Dano, the shoot took place in Latvia, and wider distribution — including a U.S. release — has yet to be set.