The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Show reviews
  • Music
    • Live music
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureMovie reviews

Strangled

Strangled | Movie review
16 November 2017
Sean Gallen
Avatar
Sean Gallen
16 November 2017

Movie and show review

Sean Gallen

Strangled

★★★★★

Release date

17th November 2017

Certificate

UPG121518 title=

Set in the small town of Martfü, Hungary, in the 1960s, Strangled tells the tale of a psychotic killer, Bognár (Károly Hajduk), who continues to slaughter young women while an innocent man, Réti (Gábor Jászberényi), is wrongly accused and sentenced for crimes he could never have committed. A determined detective, Szirmai (Péter Bárnai), arrives on the scene to reopen the case while under pressure from the prosecutor, Bota (Zsolt Anger), to see a man hang.

What makes Strangled a curious watch is how it attempts to juggle different genres. It moves between Fincher-esque murder thriller, character study on incarceration and Hungarian period film. The narrative sprawls curiously in diverse directions and as the web of characters come closer together a great dramatic tension emerges.

Visually, the film revels in its depiction of 60s Hungary and it’s a genuine treat to the eyes. The period is brought to life through intuitive set design and costume and the cinematography perfectly captures a nation transitioning into modernity that is reminiscent of Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of a Murder. Réti was sentenced due to a miscarriage of justice authorised during the suppressed uprising of 58, after which law and order needed a show of force. Director Árpád Sopsits deftly weaves a subtle social critique, by exposing the corruption that created a monster.

While the movie is spinning a lot of plates, some work better than others. Sopsits, spends a little too much time within the realm of American crime thriller and gets bogged down in tired clichés: the surly, alcoholic veteran cop reluctantly teaming up with the young, motivated partner; the stilted CSI dialogue; the good cop-bad cop routines. Buried under these generic conventions is a poignant character study of a serial killer and the man who was imprisoned in his place. The latter’s harrowing experience gives the film some real humanist grit and the murder scenes viscerally depict an insane mind on the rampage.

Despite the many speed bumps of cliché along the journey, Strangled is an ambitious and vibrant thriller that artfully ties fascinating characters together in a complex web of lies, corruption and murder.

★★★★★

Sean Gallen

Strangled is released in selected cinemas on 17th November 2017. 

Watch the trailer for Strangled here:

Related Itemsreview

More in Movie reviews

Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War

★★★★★
Umar Ali
Read More

Minions: The Rise of Gru

★★★★★
Sarah Bradbury
Read More

Nitram

★★★★★
Umar Ali
Read More

The Princess

★★★★★
Umar Ali
Read More

We (Nous)

★★★★★
Jake Cudsi
Read More

Tigers

★★★★★
Guy Lambert
Read More

Theo and the Metamorphosis

★★★★★
Oliver Johnston
Read More

The Big Hit

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

Moon, 66 Questions

★★★★★
Joseph Owen
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Movie and show review

Sean Gallen

Strangled

★★★★★

Release date

17th November 2017

Certificate

UPG121518 title=

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • The Rollings Stones give Glasto a run for its money at BST Festival in Hyde Park
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Africa Fashion at the V&A
    ★★★★★
    Art
  • Beauty and the Beast: The Musical at London Palladium
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • “He used to spit at the audience, roll on the ground, he did, in fact, hump that plastic dog – he was the original punk rocker”: Baz Luhrman, Tom Hanks, Austin Butler, Olivia DeJonge and Alton Mason on Elvis
    Cinema & Tv
  • The Princess
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Beauty and the Beast: The Musical at London Palladium
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Terminal List
    ★★★★★
    amazon
  • Baymax!
    ★★★★★
    disney
  • St Vincent at the Hammersmith Apollo
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Beauty and the Beast: The Musical at London Palladium
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • St Vincent at the Hammersmith Apollo
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Netflix Walking Tour: From Bridgerton to The Crown, a free walking tour through the filming locations
    Cinema & Tv
  • Africa Fashion at the V&A
    ★★★★★
    Art
  • Minions: The Rise of Gru
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Mudbound | Movie review
Filmed West End play Cookies is released online for free during Anti-Bullying Week 2017