Part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival
Based on the real-life murder of businessman Mariusz Roszewski, Amok begins with the discovery of his body by police near the bank of the River Oder. However, the investigation goes nowhere until three years later, when the publication of a book, the titular Amok, appears to provide clues to the identity of Roszewski’s murderer. Detective Jacek (Lukasz Simlat) decides to investigate the book’s author, the mysterious Krystian Bala (Mateusz Kosciukiewicz). Upon meeting Krystian, Jacek is sent on a twisted journey filled with misdirections and opposition as he attempts to find the murderer.
The key elements of the film’s successful treatment of its potentially difficult subject matter are the two main performances as well as the characterisation provided by Richard Karpala’s screenplay. As Krystian, Kosciukiewicz delivers a chilling portrayal of a cold and calculating yet frantically obsessive sociopath who is able to effectively convince the public that he is a unique literary talent whilst also playing mind-games with Jacek, as well as his ex-wife Zofia (Zofia Wichlacz) and young son. Whilst Krystian initially appears to be an archetypal murder suspect, with his study covered with pictures and articles of the Roszewski case and the revelation of his early fascination with dead bodies, his smooth fabrication of police brutality, and the resulting manipulation of the media in order to sell his book reveal a more cerebral and sinister undercurrent. Krystian’s goading of Jacek with cryptic messages regarding his relationship with the murderer, along with his subtle harassment and stalking of Zofia further emphasise his sadistic and attention-seeking nature.
Similarly, Simlat is also throughly convincing as Jacek, who despite his apparently single-minded dedication towards proving Krystian’s involvement in the murder, is struggling with the guilt of allowing his daughter to drown in a car accident when he could have put his own life at risk to save her. Simlat as a result not only has to depict the character’s stoic professionalism, which he achieves to great effect during his scenes opposite Kosciukewicz and his superiors, but also Jacek’s emotional vulnerability. He achieves this in a haunting sequence where Jacek has a drunken breakdown whilst arguing with his wife, creating a frighteningly realistic performance in his angry, screaming rants.
Director Adamik manages to add her own stylistic elements to the otherwise familiar iconography of the crime thriller genre, using unique visual imagery to blur the line between imagination and reality. The film’s opening scene shows Krystian reenacting the details of the Roszewski murder on a naked woman in his study who is later revealed to be a character in his book. A later scene has a woman who Krystian is choking at a party briefly transform into Zofia to show his rare feelings of guilt and paranoia regarding his actions. Adamik also effectively intercuts between Jacek’s attempted torture of Krystian by drowning him in the Oder with flashbacks to his daughter’s drowning, emphasising how Jacek’s guilt prevents him from giving in to his base instincts and killing Krystian.
Amok is an intense dramatisation of a situation that seems almost too unreal to be true, however, visually inventive direction along with powerful lead performances help the film to convey its disturbing reality.