“Emboldened by the collapse of the windmill, the human beings were inventing fresh lies about Animal Farm.”

From Mr. Jones.

In 1934, freelance reporter Gareth Jones (James Norton) decides to go to Moscow in the hopes of gaining Stalin’s financial support for England. However, his investigation makes Gareth the focus of the Soviet government. After arriving in Moscow, Gareth learns that his friend and contact, Paul (Marcin Czarnik), was killed, leaving Gareth to wonder what his friend was working on. Unable to leave Moscow, Gareth tries to ask for help from other journalists stationed in Russia, especially Walter Duranty (Peter Sarsgaard), but none are willing to speak of the hidden aspects of Soviet life. The only person willing to speak to him about Paul’s death is fellow reporter Ada (Vanessa Kirby), but even she is reluctant to share all the details with Gareth. While investigating where and how Stalin gets his wealth, Gareth realizes that he needs to get out of opulent Moscow to find out the truth for himself. When Gareth learns that Stalin’s wealth comes from the Soviet-controlled Ukraine, he ignores Ada’s pleas to stay where it’s safe, and sneaks away from his government guide to find the truth. As soon as he arrives in Ukraine, Gareth is greeted by a brutally harsh reality that is far different from the message of peaceful prosperity that Stalin has shown the world. What was supposed to be a land filled with grain and wealth is actually filled with death, starvation, and extreme poverty… all to ensure that Stalin’s Moscow remains pristine. Traveling through the countryside searching for truth and understanding, Gareth comes face to face with unspeakable situations that has been brought on the Ukrainian people by their poverty. Captured and kicked out of Russia, Gareth is given a terrible choice between telling the truth or facing disgrace, and only when he meets me young author George Orwell (Joseph Mawie) does Gareth decide to risk everything for the truth.

Based on the true events that both showed the world the truth about Stalin’s Soviet Union and inspired Orwell to write Animal Farm, this movie is intense throughout. While the movie’s pace stutters initially, Norton pushes through in a way that helps focus it again. Mr. Jones highlights the dangers of Communism and the high price that it cost the Soviet Union.

| Rated: NR | Running Time: 94 minutes |Genre: drama|

||Family Viewing||Cursing: 1 of 10|Nudity: 5 of 10|Sexuality: 1 of 10|Gore: 1 of 10

|AVAILABLE FOR HOME VIEWING|