WORDS OF WAR - Mark Reviews Movies

Words of War, Rolling Pictures

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Review by Mark Dujsik | May 2, 2025

History repeats itself because we let it. That's the harsh reminder of Words of War, a dramatized biography of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. As soon as we learn that the writer is a critic of then-recently elected president Vladimir Putin, there aren't many ways this story could end, and that Politkovskaya's tragic story feels relevant today—not just for the situation in Russia, but also for the world beyond it—is a tragedy unto itself.

It's a shame, then, that director James Strong and screenwriter Eric Poppen's movie only seems to be scratching the surface of its main subject and the broader ideas it wants us to consider. At the core of it, of course, is the notion that a free press of a country, unhindered by and unafraid of those in power, is essential to the freedoms of every citizen within that country. Since Putin took power and has gone on to manipulate Russia's systems to hold even more of it over the country, there are only hindrances to the press and an air of fear created intentionally to keep those who would push beyond those obstacles silent.

Here, though, is a tale about how all of those current circumstances might have been avoided or, at least, kept somewhat at bay. Then again, a single man obsessed with gaining as much power as possible isn't going to let a few, a few dozen, or even a few hundred of critical voices stop that march. Too many countries around the world have seen that happen or are currently in the midst of it happening, and for all of the good intentions Strong's movie may possess about the necessity of journalism and the sacrifices so many journalists make in the face of blatant corruption, this particular story feels almost defeatist in the current political climate.

That would have been, obviously, almost impossible to avoid, as soon as the filmmakers decided to tell Politkovskaya's story. It opens in 2004, as Anna, played by a quietly determined Maxine Peake, is on a plane to somewhere to do something. The trip and its goal become irrelevant, because, after drinking some tea, the reporter suffers some intense medical issue. She awakens in the hospital, where those around her have to sneak her out of the building. There is no record of Anna being admitted into the system, which basically confirms that there are people who put her here by way of poison and have no plans of allowing her to leave alive.

From there, the narrative becomes an extended flashback, with little sense of when anything happens in history as the narrative progresses. The most and, indeed, only important things to note are that Putin has been elected and that the Second Chechen War is underway. Early into his political career at in the highest positions of power in Russia, Putin has aims to expand the country, under the guise of claiming territory that he argues should be part of the Russian Federation and using various propaganda tools to convince the population that taking that land will make the country great again. We're still in the midst of the consequences of that imperialistic mindset, but here is the authoritarian leader's first step.

The stakes of Anna's story are high. She's sympathetic toward the people of Chechnya, although not the more violent arms of its rebellion. Working at one of the few independent newspapers in Moscow or Russia at large, Anna questions why the outlet bothers to write about the war, when their current reporter could just print statements from the military to get the same result. Editor Dmitry Muratov (Ciarán Hinds) decides to send Anna into Chechnya to interview local people, but as she sees the devastation firsthand and hears about Russian military personnel torturing and executing civilians, Anna becomes more assertive of her criticism of both the military and the president.

For as much as there is happening in this story, it is surprisingly and unfortunately repetitive and shallow. Anna is challenged or threatened by someone, either some army officer or the mysterious agent named Yuri (Ben Miles) who seems single-handedly tasked with following this journalist's movements and words, and stands up to them. Sometimes, the challenge comes from home, either from her husband Sasha (Jason Isaacs), who worries about his wife's safety but then seem envious of her sudden fame (He exits the story as unceremoniously as he exists within it), or her son Ilya (Harry Lawtey), who doesn't understand why his mother would put the interests of so many strangers over her own family.

The performances—especially from Peake and Hinds, as a man who almost feels cursed to be left alone to watch so many of his journalists die—are generally solid, even with Poppen's on-the-nose dialogue, which does the work of cramming about six years of politics, war, and personal biography into less than two hours' worth of movie. Words of War, then, mostly comes across as if it's in a rush to tell this complex story. It may still be a topical one, as both a reflection of ongoing realities and warning for those who would ignore them, but as such, the movie isn't as urgent as the situation then and now should merit.

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