The key players in political history can be notoriously fickle. Take Russia, as an example; it’s hard to believe these days that the country, then known as the Soviet Union, was one of the good guys during World War II, as a key ally and member of the “Big three” alongside Britain and the US. How times change.

Although not a factual drama per se, this French film focuses on fairly recent Russian history, which saw the rise of one Vladimir Putin.

Getting to sit with American journalist Rowland (Jeffrey Wright) is Vadim Baranov (Paul Dano).

Vadim invites him into his home, and begins to tell of his journey, from being a theatre director, then a TV producer, before being poached for another position.

He recalls his time as an adviser, in Russian politics, guiding one individual, a KGB foreign intelligence officer, Vladimir Putin (Jude Law), into a higher position, that of president, and how his influence on him changed the course of history, before his creation decided to take control of his own fate, and that of the country’s.

Olivier Assayas’ film is based on Giuliano da Empoli’s 2022 novel of the same name, featuring fictional characters based on real ones, such as Vadim’s character inspired by real life Vladislav Surkov.

The result is a soft blend of fiction with the all too hard facts of reality, as the French director reveals the machinations of the media and government spin doctor in Vadim that pushed Putin reluctantly into power, only to become the dictator he is today.

It’s a film that feels awkwardly sitting in a cinematic no man’s land; it lacks the political punch of something like an Oliver Stone film, as well as the knowing political satire of an Armando Iannucci film such as The Death of Stalin.

The result is mildly interesting. And really no more than that. There are some good performances, such as Law becoming a credible Putin, and Alicia Vikander as Ksenia, Vadim’s off/on love interest.

And then there’s Dano. This is the second time that he’s dabbled with Russian history, following his role in the 2016 mini-series War & Peace. It’s an interesting performance, of a quietly intelligent man, with little hint of a Russian accent; but to be fair, Assayas mixes up his cast with Russian sounding characters, and English sounding Russian characters, and it’s one that isn’t too jarring.

It’s a very understated performance, that some film-making scallywags (*cough* Tarrantino), could misconstrued as bad acting, but that’s more a reflection in their poor tastes than the truth. Dano can be mesmerising, and often is, but in this director’s hands, is a functional cog in a functional plot, and nothing more. With a stronger script, and/or darker humour, Dano would have, invariably, shined brighter.

An interesting time of history examined then, but the execution lacks a certain finesse, or utonchennost, as they say in Russia.