I knew I was in trouble when five minutes into Bitter Harvest, about the mass starvation of many innocent citizens, I thought "at least it looks like a movie." This is a case of an amazing, powerful story being turned into mush by a script so poorly constructed and director so incompetent that it often borders on parody. The appearance of such actors as Barry Pepper and Terrence Stamp, who seem to be in that part of their career where they will take on literally any project, does not help.
The film follows Yuri (Max Irons,) a young gent who falls for Natalka (Samantha Barks) amidst the powerful rule of Joseph Stalin (Gary Oliver, in a performance that recalls Jerry Haleva's impersonation of Saddam Hussein in Hot Shots Part Deux.) When Stalin's reign falls into Yuri's beloved country of Yugoslavia, he takes it upon himself to stop this. Meanwhile, many innocent citizens are being deprived of any food, which really happened but never mind that---it's nothing compared to the bland, lifeless chemistry between Irons and Barks as they play out a love story so dull that those who criticized the Twilight films should take a good, hard look at what no chemistry REALLY looks like.
Irons can be a decent actor given the right material. Alas, Bitter Harvest provides him with absolutely nothing worthwhile. Meanwhile, Pepper and Stamp, as Yuri's father and grandfather, get to sport haircuts so bad they make Max Landis's rat heap look amazing in comparison. The slight streak on top, surrounded by a big balding spot, is hideous. Pepper and Stamp, talented actors that they are, can't overcome the awfulness of those haircuts or the way their characters are written. These barely feel like people, which makes it even less impactful when (SPOILER) Yaroslav (Pepper) unexpectedly dies in the first act.
The film is directed and co-written by George Mendeluk, who did the 80's comedies Doin' Time and Meatballs III, neither of which are exactly great resume boosters and has gone on to be a connoisseur of mediocre Hallmark holiday films. This perhaps explains why the film looks as if it belongs on basic cable at 3 AM. That does not explain, however, how Mendeluk and Richard Bachynsky Hoover could screw up the screenplay so bad. Stalin is little more than a cartoon character while everyone else barely registers, if at all. This story should have inherently been powerful, exciting and sad. With the people they had at the helm, however, you'd be better off watching The History Channel for your lessons, even if "Ice Road Truckers" is on.
(1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for violence and disturbing images)
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