Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: December 25, 2014
7.3
USER SCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 263 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
196
Mixed:
36
Negative:
31
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romanvartanovFeb 7, 2015
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The film is a weak attempt to picture Russia as hell on earth. The director Zvyagintsev simply used ther anti-Russian moods spread by western media in order to gain popularity in the west.

The charachters act unnaturally and do things which people just don't. People do not act like this. They might be bad and corrupt but they if they want to evict you the would never come to your house and call you an insect - what for? The mayer would never obey a priest. The influence of church is so much exaggerated in the movie...

The man just had a bad cheating wife. His friend lawyer and the mayor just act inadequately.

By the way, it is plagirised from Dogville.
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1 of 3 users found this helpful12
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2
hotfromcauldronJan 11, 2015
This vodka doused Russian import's three acts can only be described as neat, on the rocks and muddled in a town filled with bad hangovers and future AA members. A cold war breaks out when a way too fair minded car mechanic's land isThis vodka doused Russian import's three acts can only be described as neat, on the rocks and muddled in a town filled with bad hangovers and future AA members. A cold war breaks out when a way too fair minded car mechanic's land is threatened by a corrupt mayor under the policy of eminent domain- the power for the state to seize property for public use- quite common in the USA. I'll drink to that. But Leviathan drowns in contrived plot twists, cloudy judgement and drunken banter. Far from 2014's best more a public service message for MADD. Expand
5 of 19 users found this helpful514
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0
NorthPoleFeb 28, 2015
What a dreadful movie. This movie should never have been nominated for an Oscar. It is just one Russian stereotypical problem after another. It has the feel of a propaganda film. Yea, all Russian police, court, government officials areWhat a dreadful movie. This movie should never have been nominated for an Oscar. It is just one Russian stereotypical problem after another. It has the feel of a propaganda film. Yea, all Russian police, court, government officials are corrupt while common people sit around drinking vodka and cheat on their spouses. At the end of the film, a priest gives a sermon about seeing the truth and getting rid of lies. HA, maybe the director of this film should take some of this priest's advice because the whole film does not accurately portray Russians. This film is a real Khaltura (hack job). Avoid it if you can!!! Expand
2 of 8 users found this helpful26
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Jack_MorganJan 29, 2015
Well, one thing is for sure, there has never been a movie made that shows a corrupt rabbi. Always the attack on anything, no matter how remote, associated with Jesus, Iesus, Christianity, etc.

And in this movie, viewed at no cost to me,
Well, one thing is for sure, there has never been a movie made that shows a corrupt rabbi. Always the attack on anything, no matter how remote, associated with Jesus, Iesus, Christianity, etc.

And in this movie, viewed at no cost to me, and I truly hope it loses money for the producer, portrays a Christian leader of the church giving advice that is patently, totally, utterly wrong.

In other words, the director dresses up a devil worshiper in an Orthodox priest frock and gives him a few lines that are not at all consistent with the character portrayed.

Given the exact same set of circumstances, I am confident you could not find a single Christian priest (or whatever they call them) over there that would have given the same advice, which in this case was to overrule the corrupt mayor's rare prick of conscience, to tell him to take matters into his own hands, and to forcefully do whatever was necessary to rid himself of his antagonist, instead of what a real Christian would do, and that is to advise the mayor to pursue the truth and justice, the cornerstones of what Jesus stood for.

And let's not also forget that Jesus got in the face of the "synagogue of Satan", run by the Pharisee mafia of Jesus' day. Those were the people who forced the hand of Pilot. They were the ones chanting "Crucify him! Crucify him! Crucify him!"

The sting of his resurrection, and his ubiquitous presence in the world is obviously a real burn for the synagogue of Satan, because, as we see, Hollywood, and now even Russian movie makers, will never pass up the chance to demonize Iesus (using the older spelling) and his followers, when they are the demons themselves.

While it is true corruption finds its way into the heart of every man, woman and child at one point or the other, yes, even a Christian leader, but it would also be a Jewish leader as well. Yet, in this movie, once again, we see a conspicuously over the top misrepresentation of a follower of Iesus, which leads the intelligent viewer, who isn't an empty brain waiting to be washed, to suspect all the other things the director is attempting to represent are also exaggerated.

Lastly, the timing is conspicuous, as the notoriously anti-Christian Beast of the west is attacking the Russian people's economy because they don't like Putin, a man who has the audacity to show up in church on Easter Sunday to pay tribute to the risen Lord.

Hmmph ... a bunch of little babies with too much (counterfeit) money and time on their hands.

Thumbs down to Leviathan. It is nothing more than a distorted propaganda hit piece against Putin, Russia, and Christianity in Russia.
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1 of 10 users found this helpful19
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0
mrmihailavdeevJan 28, 2015
Don't know why this piece of **** get's so much positive reviews and international rewards. It's stupid, boring and have nothing common with actual Russia and it's people.
1 of 18 users found this helpful117
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2
StrikeThreeNov 7, 2017
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This film has some impressive scenes of Russian urban landscapes, and the acting is good, but the message (and it is a "message" film) is crude. Russian politics is corrupt, the bureaucracy is corrupt, and so are the police. The Orthodox Church is a force for evil. Your friends cheat with your wife and betray you to the police. Russian people don't just drink vodka, they put the bottle on their head and gulp it down. They do ridiculously stupid things, like try to blackmail the local political villain then get in his car with him and his thugs. There is no subtlety in this film. It ends with a long sermon about Truth by the evil priest, as if we had not already realised that the film is about a hypocritically corrupt society. If you want to see a bleak film about post-communist East European life, skip this and watch the superbly nuanced Ida instead. Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
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