'Mr Jones': James Norton shines as real-life Welsh journalist in epic drama that uncovers Stalin's atrocities
'Mr Jones' opens with a shot of pigs in the pen, squelching, grunting, and noisily eating the food. Outside the light sun and the breeze light up the wheat field which undulates briskly. Cut to a man who is busy clacking on a typewriter and narrates the tale, or shall we say a gripping and tragic story of "Mr Jones of the Manor Farm". James Norton, who was touted to be on the list of British actors to take over Daniel Craig as James Bond earlier this year, is Gareth Jones, a journalist on a mission of his own. The stranger narrating the tale is George Orwell, who vanishes after a rather Orwellian introduction as the film takes the viewer to what is possibly a daunting and riveting story of a man versus the system. Shot in almost monochrome except for the splashes of color that's unabashedly broody, 'Mr Jones' is grim and inspiring at the same time. Personally, 'All The President's Men' was always a favorite as it redefined investigative journalism, but with 'Mr Jones, there's a new choice.
Jones isn't Peter Miller, the caffeine-addicted, chain-smoking German reporter and his tale might not be the Odessa File. But the Welsh journalist is a rather unostentatious man with the will and the heart to do what is right. "We follow the facts," he says, politely, yet firmly. Jones isn't a hotshot reporter with his eyes on a Pulitzer, even if you add the fact he interviewed Adolf Hitler on his private plane after his appointment as chancellor of the German Empire in 1933. His story though is grim, horrific, and at the same time as impactful as a shot from an Anderson Wheeler 500 Nitro Express rifle. The movie will drive any journalist with the heart to do what's right to rage. Director Agnieszka Holland's film recounts Jones' clandestine journey to Ukraine in 1933 which is battered and reeling from a man-made famine. That there were traces of cannibalism at that time gives the audience a crystal clear gory image of the catastrophe.
Holland's feature is a political thriller at best that finally narrates the story of a man who is absent from history's pages. It was a pity that honest and brilliant report was laughed at back in the day. Call this statement blunt if you must, but that is the only thought when we see Jones struggling to find reasons to convinces the head honchos in London when he outlines his worry about Hitler and Goebbels. That doesn't deter Jones, who next gears up for an assignment in Moscow by paving his way through with his fluent Russian and innocent charm.
The first 40 minutes of 'Mr Jones' is a blur. Authorities in Russia have literally restricted the movement of foreign journos to the city and here's where Walter Duranty (Peter Sarsgaard), the man behind the word Stalinism, and a rich, exuberant, and smooth New York Times Moscow bureau chief, comes into play. It is predictable that Jones doesn't receive any help from Duranty, but soon after, the pulsating part of the film starts as it takes the viewers to a desolate, hungry, and ill Ukraine that's more of a burial ground than a breadbasket. There's one phase of the film that captures the bleakness of the situation in Ukraine and the silence is absolutely deafening. It perhaps is the ample proof that sometimes dialogues aren't necessary to convey a powerful story. In the end, Holland's 'Mr Jones' can be looked at as either a history lesson or an example of what true journalism actually is. Hard-hitting reportage was how Jones was wired, and for the aspiring journo, this one's a great example. Jones didn't want a nation to burn, he just wanted to tell the truth.
It's safe to say that Norton as Jones has put his heart and soul in the film as a man bound by his duty to report over anything else. While the modern world may not have seen Jones, his portrayal of the character might just make his name synonymous with the journalist. Vanessa Kirby as Ada Brooks, a journalist in Duranty's HQ plays her part to perfection. Her worry and the fury with the developments that unfold over the course of the film add to the depth of the character. Back to Jones then, it was a pity his story was dismissed as the West at that point needed somebody powerful, great, and rich. So, his account of Ukraine and Stalin was promptly pushed away. The two-hour feature focuses on the journalist rather than his psyche, and that bodes well. This gutsy affair is a must-watch.
'Mr Jones' is available for VoD.