The Wizard of the Kremlin presents the curious offering of Jude Law as Vladimir Putin, a casting few would have thought was likely for anyone, least of all the star who made his name as a charming leading man in Alfie and The Holiday.
But while this new film from French director Olivier Assayas stumbles a few times, Law puts in an assured, somewhat uncanny performance.
It’s fitting for an actor who is now in one of the most promising eras of his career, freed from being considered just a heartthrob, to now sink his teeth into character roles.
And he clearly wants to make that statement with this choice – first, he was an overweight, ulcer-riddled Henry VIII in 2023’s Firebrand, and now he is the warmongering dictator ruling as Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
Despite the presence of several real figures and real historical events over the past 25-odd years, The Wizard of the Kremlin still begins with a fictional disclaimer – I guess you never can be too careful.
Law isn’t actually the main character in the film, which would be (fictional) Vadim Baranov, played by Paul Dano and thought to be partly inspired by Vladislav Surkov, Putin’s former deputy chief of staff and presidential assistant.
While starting off as an experimental theatre director revelling in the excesses and creative possibilities of post-Soviet Russia in the 90s, he will go on to become instrumental to Putin’s political career – so much so that a well-respected American author (Jeffrey Wright) is interviewing him during his retirement at the start of the film, a bog-standard framing device.
Baranov, previously known as ‘the Wizard of Kremlin’ and also ‘the new Rasputin’, settles in to recount his life and career, starting with a wild house party featuring a naked sub being led around on a chain like a dog – which is where he meets Ksenia (Alicia Vikander), a free spirit and his love interest.
We cycle through other early seasons in his life and characters he meets, such as the gregarious but vulgar banker Dmitri Sidorov (The Sandman’s Tom Sturridge, injecting a welcome shot of energy with his madcap performance) before he enters his reality TV producer phase and encounters Boris Berezovsky.
The Wizard of the Kremlin: Key details
Director
Olivier Assayas
Writer
Olivier Assayas & Emmanuel Carrère, based on the novel by Guiliano da Empoli
Cast
Paul Dano, Jude Law, Alicia Vikander, Jeffrey Wright, Tom Sturridge, Will Keen
Age rating
TBC
Run time
2hr 36m
Release date
TBC 2026
It’s Berezovsky who introduces Baranov to Putin, then just a civil servant and director of KGB predecessor FSB, because they’re looking for a puppet to send straight to the top of the government.
They, of course, vastly underestimate Putin, with Berezovsky even sniffing: ‘He’s no rocket scientist, but he’ll do just fine.’
We’re made to wait almost an hour for Law’s grand reveal as Putin, but the subtle wig and make-up allow him the ability to perform facial gymnastics. He absolutely nails the pouting bottom lip and furrowed brow expressions of the politician to an almost unnerving degree, while also carefully mastering Putin’s contained but aggressively macho way of holding himself.
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My only niggle is I wish Law had adjusted his voice, even just a little, to suggest more Putin (or even Russian) rather than sticking rigidly to his own accent: it’s so distinct that it can get in the way of his otherwise note-perfect characterisation.
The Wizard of the Kremlin gives a pretty comprehensive and interesting take on the past 25 years, too, as a satire with some sharp and amusing observations. However, it’s sometimes slightly hard to penetrate if you don’t already have a reasonable grasp on these events already.
It’s also a bit of a slog of a movie, with elements starting to lag as it moves slightly inelegantly through various chapters in Baranov’s life, like episodes. I couldn’t help but feel things could have been tied together more elegantly.
It’s lovely to see Dano in the lead, a deserving actor of true multitudes, even if his character becomes too much of a cipher towards the end.
The same is true of the movie, which retains something of the surface-level about it – I wish the story had been as well-crafted as the cast’s performances.
Verdict
The Wizard of the Kremlin is solid enough but won’t attract rave reviews. Law’s nuanced performance, however, deserves them.
The Wizard of the Kremlin premiered at Venice Film Festival on Sunday. It’s scheduled for release in 2026.
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