'Navalny' film review: Timely jaw-dropping doc plays like a taut spy thriller
Equal parts political and crime thriller, the captivating documentary 'Navalny' (which screened during the 48th Seattle International Film Festival and streaming on HBO Max starting May 11) is an essential film in this era of Russian-influence geopolitics.
In short: Documentary filmmakers follow the rise, failed assassination attempt and forced exile of Russian politician Alexei Navalny.
The documentary is absolutely infused with the humanity and appeal of Alexei Navalny and all his allies as they try to unspool the attempted murder of a political target. From the doc's opening scene, Navalny's incredulity and infectious charisma informs the audience of his youthful, semi-flippant character. Any episode of 'Frontline' could have easily just recounted the same event beats as 'Navalny' but would have failed to be as engrossing as this documentary because of the intimacy afforded to the filmmakers. Watching Navalny and his team relive and investigate his attempted murder - in their own words - is infinitely more compelling than just some documentary composed of secondary source archival clips.
The focal point of 'Navalny' is the attempted assassination of Alexei Navalny, a politician who ran for the Russian presidency in 2018 as an opposition candidate. The documentary focuses on the investigation into how the plot unfolded, while Navalny and his allies themselves work in exile. The case and plot themselves are inherently interesting - but what truly makes the film captivating is the humanity, bravery and eccentricity that shines through. It's one thing to watch footage of Navalny walking down the streets as an opposition leader while using his phone - it's something else to get an alternate angle of the same footage, and watch him playing 'Call of Duty' rather than just firing off incendiary texts or emails.
The film's crown jewel is three people sitting in a room making a phone call. This review will not spoil the specifics of his scene - but it is the culmination of thorough, tedious data-mining investigation aimed at answering one simple question: how was the attempted assassination executed? Suffice it to say, the sequence is so jaw-dropping that even Navalny's unflappable and stoic chief investigator is visibly blown away. Her shock resonates with the audience. The documentary starts and ends with Navalny simply staring into the camera and speaking his heart - and an awareness that the film is made stronger by allows audiences abroad buy into his magnetic smile and undeniable charm.
Although the film plays like a political thriller, 'Navalny' doesn't paint much of a portrait of Alexei Navalny as a politician. He's mostly presented as just an opposition figure targeted by the Kremlin - a politician who vehemently spoke out against the Russian government. Unfortunately this documentary just spends a single three-minute segment that tacitly acknowledges Navalny's political positions, specifically his rallies attended by far-right nationalists. While this allows 'Navalny' to focus on the assassination attempt, the documentary does not work as a true, multi-dimensional profile of an aspiring Russian president.
Final verdict: Given the global developments of 2022, 'Navalny' is an absolute must-see distillation how the Russian government targeted one man who publicly spoke out against the Kremlin - and what lengths they would apparently go to to silence him.
Score: 4.5/5
'Navalny' screened during the 48th Seattle International Film Festival and streams on HBO Max starting May 26. This documentary has a runtime of 99 minutes and is rated R for some language.
