My Favourite Movies: Gorky Park

This was one of my favourite movies of the 1980’s probably because of William Hurt who plays the lead character Arkady Renko. Renko is a Soviet State police investigator called in on a case of three mutilated corpses found under the snow in Moscow’s Gorky Park. Suspecting KGB involvement he wants to ditch the case as soon as possible but needs just enough evidence to warrant it being passed over to State Security. Despite finding links to American businessman Jack Osborne (played by Lee Marvin who sleepwalks through his role) his political bosses tell him to keep investigating. Realising that he is being used as a pawn in a high level power game in the Kremlin, Renko can apparently do little except keep himself alive as he tries to uncover what is really going on. Along the way he discovers the love of his life Irina (played by the newcomer Joanna Pacula) a social misfit desperate to defect to the West and freedom. In the final analysis he must choose between his own safety and Irina’s dreams.

I can’t remember if I read the Martin Cruz Smith book first or saw the film first. Either way I was impressed by the attention to detail and the ‘feel’ of both the book and the film. I’ve recently read the third book in the Renko series (Red Square) which is equally as good as his first novel. The thing that stood out for me more than anything else is the way Hurt played Renko. In an almost bumbling style – not too dissimilar to one of my all-time favourite TV detectives Columbo - he slowly puts the pieces together to crack the case wide open. Meanwhile his opponents, both criminal and political, fail to see that the plodding policeman exterior hides a mind like a steel trap. Once Renko is on the case he will never let go and never give up. His relentlessness and his understanding of the human condition – to say nothing of his native intelligence – actually puts him head and shoulders above everyone else. With a typically 80’s feel to it this is a well scripted, well acted and well shot thriller. Renko is a superb character that no doubt will be giving me pleasure for years to come – so long as his creator produces new novels for him to live in. Inevitably whenever I read his novels post Gorky Park I always ‘see’ Hurt as Renko in my minds eye. But this is no bad thing as, as far as I’m concerned, Hurt is Renko. Watch and be impressed.