[yasr_overall_rating]
A war criminal in hiding forms a relationship with his only connection to the outside world – his maid.
Ben Kingsley has given some truly remarkable performances throughout his career, Itzhak Stern in Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List,” Don Logan in Jonathan Glazer’s “Sexy Beast,” and let’s not forget his Oscar win for portraying Mahatma Gandhi in Richard Attenborough’s three-hour epic, “Gandhi.” With his latest effort, “An Ordinary Man,” he plays a character that is only ever referred to as The General, he is a war criminal that spends his time in hiding throughout Eastern Europe, moving from location to location so the authorities never find him. He has sympathizers who support and shield him but he is always on the run.
When Miro (Peter Serafinowicz), one of his loyal supporters and personal driver, moves him to a new location in the city, he begs him to stay put but he knows his words will fall on deaf ears. The General likes to go for walks, buy his daily newspaper, shop at the local supermarket, basically, he is unafraid of those who are searching for him and hates that he must live in the shadows, instead of being front and center, where everyone can see him. Shortly after moving into his new abode, he meets Tanja (Hera Hilmar), a young woman who comes to the apartment seeking out the former tenant, who she worked for as a part-time maid. He informs her that she has moved and that he will pay her more than what she previously earned to be his full-time maid. She agrees and over time, they form a volatile love-hate relationship.
It eventually comes to light that she is actually a part of the resistance, those who are trying to keep him safe and she tells him that the powers-that-be thought he might listen to a young, beautiful woman. Naturally, this infuriates him and while their relationship is asexual, he realizes that she is the only person in his life right now, who will listen to him rant and rave about anything and everything, blaming everyone else in the world but himself for the situation he is in. Tanja is very quiet and reserved, he is very outspoken and strident but after a situation in a nightclub in which she pulls her gun on a group of men, he realizes that she is willing to sacrifice herself for his life and his curiosity gets the better of him. Instead of talking about himself, he begins to ask her questions about her life and has her take him to her old school, her apartment, places she grew up and he lets it slip that he had a young daughter, very much like Tanja, who was killed many years ago. He asks her to take him to his old hometown village in the country so he can pay his respects to her and while she is very much against the idea, she reluctantly concedes but once they arrive, they quickly realize that it was a decision that will have life-changing effects for both of them.
Kingsley’s General spews insults and outrage every chance he gets while Tanja just sits there and indulges him. Writer and director Brad Silberling gives Kingsley some terrific monologues and dialogue to chew on but I felt that had he given Tanja more of a backbone, someone who could give just as good as she gets, the interplay between the two of them could have been electrifying. The relationship between the two feels very one-sided, with the General hogging the spotlight and Tanja just sitting idly by, obliging him, and as a result, the film suffers. Watching Europe take center stage as the story’s backdrop made for a nice change of scenery, instead of American locales and landmarks that seem to permeate almost everything onscreen these days but the ending, while not surprising, still left a sour taste in my mouth. When dealing with a war criminal who has been accused of horrendous crimes against humanity, it is to be expected. I guess.
Available on DVD & Digital HD June 12th
