Member review

‘Mr Jones’ is the story of Welsh journalist Gareth Jones who risked his life to expose the truth about the famine in the Soviet Union in the 1930s. The film’s story is relatively slow, which starkly contrasts the film’s fast paced dialogue and thriller conventions. Unfortunately this creates a confused tone and the film struggles to find its footing throughout it’s runtime. Furthermore, a lot of the film’s dialogue carries little nuance, with the majority of it being used to further the story.

James Norton faithfully plays the titular Gareth Jones, with a spot on Welsh accent. Norton’s performance carries the film’s near two and a half hour runtime; he is nervously charismatic and instantly magnetic from the moment he first appears on screen. Despite James Norton giving his all for this role, the same cannot be said of the majority of his co-stars as they deliver an extensive amount of monotone lines. The conversations in the film often jump around, leaving audiences lost in what the conversation is actually about, with only stereotypically dramatic lines left to connect the dots. Every character, aside from Jones, lacks depth, making it hard to empathise with Jones when the side characters interact with him emotionally. Whether it's a betrayal or an act of love, the story beats fall flat.

The film contains an interesting palette swap as Jones leaves the cinematic Moscow to journey into the Ukraine. The film’s colour alternates to a darker, desaturated palette akin to Zack Snyder’s films. This works wonders, helping to separate and draw contrast between the glamour of Moscow and the apocalyptic isolation of the Ukraine. Another positive comes from the film’s camerawork: Mr Jones features experimental cinematography, setting it apart from other biopics. This coupled with the fast paced editing gives the film a very distinct visual identity. The film’s editing also cuts back and forth to George Orwell writing Animal Farm which was inspired by Mr Jones’ story. This creates an interesting, albeit confusing narrative.

Despite it’s fast paced editing, the film still drags on with it’s slow dialogue weighing it down. The film also feels as though a few scenes have been cut out, scenes which could have helped the flow of the film. Instead it just jumps between events that steer it to a confusing conclusion. After finishing watching Mr Jones, I felt drained; Gareth Jones’ story is nowhere near as entertaining as the literary classic that it inspired.