WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE! Review: Oh, The Things We Do For Love…

Kiril Sokolov’s feature debut, Why Don’t You Just Die! takes a searing and catastrophic glimpse at twisted family drama with brutal results. Best of all is the film marks the latest outing of actor Aleksandr Kuznetsov who first landed on this site’s radar with a physically impressive supporting turn in Rustam Mosafir’s period actioner, The Scythian (also known as The Last Warrior), which is an absolute blast.

Kuznetsov’s performance lends an equally raw physicality to Sokolov’s unfolding and whimsically comedic and dark drama. It doesn’t take long for the gears to begin turning with a story that centers on Matvey (Kuznetsov), a man who is compelled by his girlfriend, Olya (Evgeniya Kregzhde), to kill her father, Andrey (Vitaliy Khaev), for an alleged incident during her childhood.

Armed with a hammer and expecting only to confront Andrey by himself, Matvey’s simple plan unravels into a not-so-simple standoff with the man sitting across from him at his small dinner table. The intense tete-a-tete soon escalates into a violent free-for-all, unraveling an explosive tale of lies, deceit, corruption, greed and fleeting moral compunction for a family clearly on the brink.

There’s an air of excitement at every turn with Sokolov’s Why Don’t You Just Die! that assures almost no moment in the film lags too long before carrying over into the next plot development or twist. From the performances and story pacing, to the stunt work, cinematography and editing, Sokolov takes on a certain style that exudes brilliance amid the blood and gore.

You’re with Matyev almost every step of the way when it counts, including at key moments when he’s supposedly locked in the bathroom and trying to fight his way from captivity. It’s one of the more crucial turning points of the film, as he’s suddenly an unwitting fly on the wall for bearing witness to all the shady stuff that happens in the apartment, and that’s not even the worst of it.

Khaev’s Andrey is a bald, brooding and burly boomer. As the film moves forward, it also turns out he’s a dirty cop with no moral compunction for the rule of law to his will if he can help it. This aspect is part and parcel to the film’s very subtext, with Andrey’s wife, Tasha (Elena Shevchenko), and his partner and best friend, Evgenich (Michael Gor), introduced throughout.

Each character brings something pivotal to the layering of the film’s overall narrative, and not for nothing as Kregzhde’s own performance contributes amply by the third act. Initially playing directly to the crowd to generate some much deserved animus toward Olya, the film never reveals immediately if she herself has limits to her own proclivities. The writing here is fantastic, and it’s rewarded all the more by her performance among the cast.

Lending a hearty nod to the cinematic flair of directors such as Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino, Why Don’t You Just Die! comes packaged with tons of meat on its bones. It’s a witty, unrelenting and consequential crime comedy that spares no one in its wake, promising more than your money’s worth for the price of a ticket or a DVD/Blu-Ray to check this film out. Rest assured, it’s money well spent.