Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov intended to make his second feature film, following his 2011 debut Gamer, in 2014. However, due to the Maidan uprising protests that swept across Ukraine the filming was put on hold. This was further impacted by Russia’s annexation of Crimea (Sentsov’s birthplace) which actually resulted in Sentsov being arrested by the Russian government on charges of terrorism. For around five years he was kept as a political prisoner only to be released in 2019 via a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia and within a half a year was beginning to finally work on his second feature film.
Rhino is a 90s crime drama that follows the titular lead character and his descent into the Ukrainian underworld as he rises and falls from grace. The opening includes a very strong sequence in which we are introduced to the entirety of Rhino’s childhood. This is told through a series of short, impressionistic vignettes that cover everything from his abusive father returning home from prison to his older brother going to fight the Afghan-Soviet war. Linking these scenes, which all take place in an old Soviet house, are a series of fluid camera movements; whenever the camera passes through a door or a window the time jumps and we are shown another peak deeper into the life of the character.
It takes over ten minutes before we are introduced to the grey and brutal world outside of this house as Rhino takes his first steps outside to greet his girlfriend and attend a disco. Being set in the 1990s the style of clothing and choice of music, which includes No Limit by 2 Unlimited, are more than appropriate. Within a short span of time we see Rhino enter a gym and start fighting the people inside, he loses the fight and ends up owing money to a high ranking mobster. Struggling for the cash he visits a different mobster and agrees to work as a low-level henchman where in exchange his problem will go away. It isn’t entirely clear why he enters the gym or who any of these people are and whilst it definitely causes confusion it doesn’t account to much in the grand scheme of things.
As well as in the opening sequence there are some really great transitions here and the action often feels kinetic and punchy; both of which are by-products of some excellent editing
Not before long, the film becomes a more standard, middle of the road gangster flick that is very reminiscent of Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas or Casino; the film even has montages of mob violence playing to the sound of rock and pop music. Whilst being influenced by these films isn’t inherently a bad thing it feels like Sentsov is trying to cram every gangster cliche into the middle act. Rhino has affairs with prostitutes causing his wife to find out and leave him; he gets a bit too power-hungry and decides to carve out his own empire; he gets investigated by the police and has to make a deal. Everything that happens feels tiresome and has already been done better.
Post Soviet Ukraine is ripe for an interesting story about how the dissolution of communism and the introduction of open markets, with the rise of gangster capitalism, changed life in the Eastern Bloc for everybody. Or how the corruption in the political institutions was and still is, weaved into the mob families that have so much control over the country. However, sadly none of these areas is explored in much if any, detail and we are just left with a very generic revenge film about a man seeking redemption. Albeit this does feature lots of brutal violence and has a much more sombre atmosphere than most gangster flicks helping it stand out somewhat.
Even though the film might lack in the writing and pacing side of things when it comes to the technical aspects (ie cinematography and editing) it frequently pleases. As well as in the opening sequence there are some really great transitions here and the action often feels kinetic and punchy; both of which are by-products of some excellent editing. There are a few really great looking scenes throughout, most notably when Rhino is on a train and he glimpses out into a vast body of water which shimmers with the city lights around him – featuring the two greatest cinematic elements; trains and water.
Ultimately Rhino ends up being mostly just an average crime flick that fails to add anything new to the genre or ask any deeper questions than the ones already imposed by better films. Although the film looks stylish and keeps its urban, gritty and bleak tone consistently throughout; the plot often felt like it was going a bit all over the place and felt like it was really there to support the character study at the centre of the film. A study which fails to really grab the viewer in any compelling way, not because of bad acting but mostly due to the lack of emotional magnitude in the writing. For those who really love crime dramas or 1990s Ukraine, this will probably provide some decent entertainment but for anyone who is bored of the genre which has grown increasingly stale over the years – it’s not one to rush to see.
RHINO IS AVAILABLE TO WATCH THROUGH DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, VOD FROM BLUE FINCH FILM RELEASING
Autumn’s Archive – Rhino
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