Mr Jones (2019 film)

In 1933, Gareth Jones is an ambitious young journalist who has gained some renown for his interview with Adolf Hitler. Thanks to his connections to Lloyd George, the former British prime minister, he is able to get official permission to travel to the Soviet Union. Jones intends to try to interview Stalin and to find out more about the Soviet Union's economic expansion and its apparently-successful five-year development plan.

Jones is restricted to Moscow but jumps his train and travels unofficially to Ukraine to discover evidence of the Holodomor, including empty villages, starving people, cannibalism and the enforced collection of grain. On his return to Britain, he struggles to get his story taken seriously. The film ends by recording that Jones died in Mongolia on a return visit to the Soviet Union and did not know that his guide was employed by the Soviet secret service.

• James Norton as Gareth Jones
• Vanessa Kirby as Ada Brooks
• Peter Sarsgaard as Walter Duranty
• Kenneth Cranham as David Lloyd George
• Joseph Mawle as George Orwell
• Celyn Jones as Matthew
• Krzysztof Pieczyński as Maxim Litvinov
• Beata Poźniak as Rhea Clyman
• Fenella Woolgar as Ms Stevens
• Maritn Bishop as Ernest Bennett
• Edward Wolstenholme as Eugene Lyons
• Marcin Czarnik as Paul Kleb
• Matthew Marsh as William Randolph Hearst

The film had its world premiere at the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival.[11] Distribution rights for North America were acquired by Samuel Goldwyn Films in August 2019,[12] and was released in the United Kingdom on 7 February 2020. It was scheduled to be released in the United States on 3 April 2020.

The film was received poorly by members of Gareth Jones's family, who drew attention to its various distortions and historical inaccuracies, but acknowledged the high quality of the filmography. They also accused the filmmakers of having taken advantage of their research, assistance and goodwill. On 20 January 2020 a news story appeared in the Sunday Times entitled "Family Fury as film turns daring reporter Gareth Jones into accidental cannibal".[13] This was based on an article written by Jones's Great Nephew, Philip Colley, "The True Story behind the 'True Story' of Mr Jones".[14]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 84% based on 87 reviews, with an average rating of 6.83/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Flawed yet fundamentally worthy, Mr. Jones peers into the past to tell a fact-based story that remains troublingly relevant today."[15] On Metacritic the film has a score of 68 out of 100 based on reviews from 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[16]

Kevin Maher of the Times gave the film two out of five, calling it a "bungled biopic of Stalin whistle-blower".[17] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian however gave the film four out of five, calling it "a bold and heartfelt movie with a real Lean-ian sweep".[18] Tim Robey of The Telegraph gave it three out of five. He praised Sarsgaard, for his performance and for raising the "sadly untapped" potential of the film. Robey criticised the script and concluded "There's enough in Mr Jones to make you want a good deal more".[19] David Ehrlich at Indiewire gave the film a grade C.[20] Kyle Smith of National Review gave the film a favourable review, noting "To this day, Mr. Jones is all but unknown and his courage is unsung by his inky heirs, whereas Duranty's Pulitzer Prize remains on the books even after a thousand other things have been canceled. Meanwhile, Mr. Jones joins the unconscionably brief list of brutally honest films about Communism."[21]

• Grand Prix Golden Lions at the 44th Gdynia Film Festival 2019.[22]

• Mass killings under communist regimes

• Official website
• Mr Jones on IMDb