By Erin Free
In this regular column, we drag forgotten made-for-TV movies out of the vault and into the light. This week: the absorbing true crime thriller Citizen X, starring Stephen Rea, Donald Sutherland, Max Von Sydow, Jeffrey DeMunn and Joss Ackland.
Movies, TV series and telemovies about serial killers are literally a dime-a-dozen these days, with the influence of Jonathan Demme’s epochal 1991 masterpiece The Silence Of The Lambs (and the novel by Thomas Harris on which it’s based) nothing less than seismic. While the exceptional 1995 telemovie Citizen X – first aired on cable giant HBO on February 25, 1995 – certainly came in the wake of the aforementioned multiple Oscar winner, the telemovie had long documented (though not in overly gory detail) the exploits of notorious killers and criminals, with 1976’s Helter Skelter (Steve Railsback as Charles Manson), 1986’s The Deliberate Stranger (Mark Harmon as Ted Bundy), and 1989’s The Case Of The Hillside Stranglers (Dennis Farina and Billy Zane as Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi) just a few of the best examples.
Though now almost completely forgotten amongst the huge number of similarly themed television projects that have emerged in the years since, Citizen X is one of the most grindingly compelling and profoundly haunting works ever made about a serial killer, and also one of the most fascinating portraits you’ll ever see on the psychological damage wrought on those who pursue monsters for a living.
A disappointingly rare directorial effort from accomplished screenwriter Christoper Gerolmo (Mississippi Burning, Miles From Home) based on Robert Cullen’s non-fiction book The Killer Department, Citizen X is the long and winding tale of the pursuit and capture of notorious Soviet serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, who was convicted in 1992 of the murder of 52 women and children committed between 1978 and 1990. A wild-eyed walking nightmare, Chikatilo copped the garish monikers “The Butcher Of Rostov”, “The Rostov Ripper” and “The Red Ripper”, and proved – much to the consternation of many in Russia – that serial killers were not a singularly American phenomenon.
With Hungary doubling for 1980s Russia, Citizen X stokes up a chillingly wintry atmosphere that instantly wrong-foots and disturbs the audience. The film begins with the discovery of a body on a collective farm, which amps up the suspicions of forensic specialist Viktor Burakov (Stephen Rea’s hangdog grit is utilised to often heartbreaking perfection here), who authorises a search of the nearby woods which turns up seven more bodies. From there, the hunt is on, as Burakov uses all of his skills of intuition to track the killer, eventually revealed to be seeming everyman Andrei Chikatilo (the usually benign Jeffrey DeMunn is terrifying and disturbing in equal measure).
Viktor Burakov, however, has much more to deal with than his US counterparts when it comes to tracking a serial killer. In Communist Russia, the presence of a serial killer – long believed in the USSR to be solely the product of the decadent, perverted West – is not only denied, but actively acted against, and Burakov’s investigation is thwarted at every turn. But though a quiet, reserved man, Burakov is the very picture of relentless doggedness, and he never gives up, even when prime suspect Chikatilo is initially cut loose because of his membership to The Communist Party.
The political reforms of glasnost and Perestroika – which saw greater transparency in the USSR – prompt a huge change in the attitude toward Burakov’s continuing investigation, and the keenly intelligent detective is eventually provided with far greater public support, on top of that already quietly given by his canny, politically savvy superior Colonel Mikhail Fetisov (Donald Sutherland is sheer brilliance, injecting his sly performance with surprising warmth and humour) and psychiatrist Alexandr Bukhanovsky (Max Von Sydow is characteristically compelling).
Though the crimes are horrific and the story one of profound ugliness, there’s an undeniably rousing quality to Citizen X as Burakov is finally given free rein on his investigation by his superiors (and the odd “buddy movie” quality that the film engenders with its fascinating depiction of the respectful relationship that grows between the very different Burakov and Fetisov), which he ramps up by focusing on the railway stations that Chikatilo uses to prey upon his unsuspecting victims.
The – no spoilers here, as we all know what happened to Chikatilo – eventual capture and interrogation of the serial killer not only allows actor Jeffrey DeMunn to really soar, but also once again highlights the obstacles placed before Burakov and his colleagues by the maddening Russian bureaucracy. It’s one more fascinating element to this rich, deeply nuanced telemovie, which is as much about the hypocrisies and inefficiencies of Soviet Russia as it is about the hunt for a serial killer.
While the hunt for Chikatilo is fascinating, Citizen X really finds its power in its depiction of the toll it takes on Stephen Rea’s quietly heroic Viktor Burakov, whose dedication to justice and decency knows no bounds. He’s a great character, and when Donald Sutherland’s canny political operator sings his praises in one of the film’s final and most moving scenes, you’ll almost shed a tear.
Availability: Citizen X is streaming now on HBO Max in impeccable audio and visual form.
If you enjoyed this review, check out our other vintage telemovies Relentless, The Connection, Zuma Beach, The Third Girl From The Left, Snowbeast, Stagecoach, Terror On The Beach, Strange Homecoming, The Possessed, Memorial Day, That Certain Summer, Elvis And The Beauty Queen, Scandal In A Small Town, Victims For Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story, The Seduction Of Gina, Blue Murder, The Brotherhood Of Justice, The Wave, The California Kid, The Cracker Factory, Night Terror, Inmates: A Love Story, The Shadow Riders, CHiPs: Roller Disco, Dawn: Portrait Of A Teenage Runaway, Young Love, First Love, Escape From Bogen County, The Death Squad, Hit Lady, Brian’s Song, The Defiant Ones, A Cry For Help, Trilogy Of Terror, Policewoman Centerfold, Smash-Up On Interstate 5, Something Evil, Savage, A Step Out Of Line, The Boy In The Plastic Bubble, The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission, A Very Brady Christmas, The Gladiator, Elvis, The Rat Pack, Silent Victory: The Kitty O’Neil Story, Terror Among Us, The Hanged Man, Hardcase, Charlie’s Angels: Angels In Vegas, Vanishing Point, To Heal A Nation, Fugitive Among Us, To Kill A Cop, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Police Story: A Chance To Live, Murder On Flight 502, Moon Of The Wolf, The Secret Night Caller, Cotton Candy, And The Band Played On, Gargoyles, Death Car On The Freeway, Short Walk To Daylight, Trapped, Hotline, Killdozer, The Jericho Mile, Mongo’s Back In Town and Tribes.
