(3 of 3)
Forced to use Helsinki as a double for Moscow, Director Michael Apted (who is usually good at suggesting atmosphere) never makes us believe we are anywhere but on a movie location. And William Hurt, accent all askew, his spirit turned to molasses by an excess of brooding, plays Arkady as if he were strictly from Chekov. It is a ludicrous exhibition—possibly the silliest piece of self-consciousness since movies added the Method to their madness. As a suspect who becomes his lover, Joanna Pacula is pallid; as the villain, Lee Marvin is livid. But at least they are acting, not posturing. It is not their fault that the film emphasizes its source's weakness: an overconvoluted plot, sluggishly developed. Gorky Park's dullness is so excruciating they could probably find a use for it in the Lu-bianka prison; the threat of having to see it more than once would make anyone confess to anything. —R.S.