Colors of Evil: Red
Maja Ostaszewska stands out from mediocrity in a brutally forgettable Polish crime procedural.
Truth seeker: Jakub Gierszal
When you first read its title, Colors of Evil: Red may evoke Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Three Colors Trilogy. However, while the naming convention may be a form of homage, and both directors are Polish, this is where the similarities end. In Kieślowski’s trilogy, Blue, White and Red represent the three colours in the French flag, and the themes of each film correspond to the ideals that those colours have come to represent in the country: liberty, equality and fraternity. In Malgorzata Oliwia Sobczak’s Colors of Evil book trilogy, the three colours are Red, Black and White, maybe implying a descent into darkness and an ascension back out of it. The trilogy’s eponymous colours also tap into common associations with darkness and evil: red evokes blood; black evokes the abyss.
Colors of Evil: Red takes on a non-linear structure as it follows the investigation into the murder of young Monika Bogucka (Zofia Jastrzebska), as well as the events that led up to it. When Monika gets involved with the manager of a club called ‘The Shipyard’ (and starts selling drugs for him), she enters a downward spiral of narcotics and abuse. The question is: was this what led to her death?
Several scenes in the film take place in the aforementioned nightclub, which consistently failed to convince me it was more than just a movie set. The extras seemed to part like the Red Sea as the camera approached, and the crowd murmurs added in post-production (called ‘walla’ in the industry) sounded distinctly fake. There is also a problem here that frequently arises when directors shoot nightclub scenes: the volume of the voices. In a real nightclub, music drowns out everything. Patrons have to yell their orders directly into the bartender’s ear to be heard. However, in most movie nightclubs (including ‘The Shipyard’), our characters are able to speak perfectly comfortably without raising their voices at all, despite the blaring dance music.
Shot without much visual flair, the film’s directing is competent but remains unexceptional throughout. The presentation reminded me more of a standard procedural crime television series than the artful trilogy its title evokes. Similarly, the script is just good enough to sustain itself, never becoming boring, but also never quite crossing over into truly investing fare. Some story beats feel too convenient to be believable, and the constant turns for the darker begin to feel gratuitous. As Monika’s backstory develops, it becomes clear that she will not be given anything more to characterise her than the torment she suffers.
While most aspects of the film may best suit the word ‘passable’, the exception comes in the form of Maja Ostaszewska. As an alum of both Schindler’s List and The Pianist, she wears pain and grief very convincingly, and puts in a consistently solid performance as Monika’s grieving (and investigating) mother.
Colors of Evil: Red is the kind of film that might engage us until the credits roll, but it is unlikely to get anyone talking. It’s hard to recommend this when things like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo exist, which uses its violence much more sparingly and to much greater effect. (This is true of both versions, so insert your favourite here.)
With the endless sea of content that Netflix has to offer, you may well find yourself spending 112 minutes watching Colors of Evil: Red. But unless you happen to have a certain affinity for overly brutal Polish crime dramas, I’m willing to wager you won’t.
JONAS BUTLER
Cast: Jakub Gierszal, Maja Ostaszewska, Zofia Jastrzebska, Andrzej Konopka, Przemyslaw Bluszcz, Wojciech Zielinski, Andrzej Zielinski, Jan Wieteska.
Dir Adrian Panek, Pro Ewa M. Pawłowska, Screenplay Lukasz M. Maciejewski and Adrian Panek, Ph Tomasz Augustynek, Pro Des Daria Dwornik, Ed Piotr Kmiecik, Music Bartosz Chajdecki, Costumes Marta Ostrowicz, Sound Sebastian Kordasz and Wojciech Mielimaka.
Aurum Film-Netflix.
112 mins. Poland. 2024. UK and US Rel: 29 May 2024. Cert. 18.
