Mute Witness

A mute American working on a low-budget movie runs afoul of the Russian mafia in this internationally produced thriller. Billy (Marina Zudina), a special-effects makeup artist who is unable to speak, is in Moscow working on a cheapie slasher flick directed by Andy (Evan Richards), her sister's ...more

Notable for its technical proficiency, its authentic Russian underworld setting, and its thoughtful if underdeveloped handicapper-rights subtext, Mute Witness is, underneath it all, a fairly standard-issue thriller. Nevertheless, Anthony Waller's effective direction and Marina Zudina's involving lead performance keep the film watchable even when too many hoary red herrings accumulate and the screenplay lapses into cartoony violence. Several effective chase sequences, including one set in an ...more