This is not just a movie to me, it is a soul cleanser. A tale of crime, modesty, comedy and so much more. A brilliantly directed comedy movie that forces you to decide if you want to bite your nails, laugh or do both at the same time. A rollercoaster of anxiety, sadness, and laughs. "Genius" is an understatement. With excellent acting, and perfect execution. The direction of the movie and narration of the story is parallel to none.
The protagonist, Semyon Semenich, goes on an excursion and befriends his biggest mistake - Genady. A charming, well-dressed, well-mannered, absolutely gorgeous man. However, they are both opposite poles. Semyon is a modest, hard-working family man. Gennady, on the other hand, is in collaboration with a crime syndicate and is sent on a mission to smuggle expensive gems and jewelry. Unfortunately, Semyon ends up with a cast on his hand with the loot in it, and Gennady is then commissioned to retrieve them at any cost from the harmless Semyon.
I haven't seen comedy done this well. It is difficult to find the perfect balance. At times, it is all pant-wetting laughs and dilutes the story to nothing. Or else, it is too many laughs, poor execution of jokes, "try hard", and completely ruins the story. But the Diamond Arm is as close to perfect as it gets.
Comedy movies usually need to present their villains very prominently to sell the story. The villains are usually cartoonish, or extremely illogical. It is a comedy movie, after all. But, The Diamond Arm does it differently. This is also why this villain is my favorite. Notice how I have not named the villain. That is because, just like how evil should be portrayed, comedy or not, the villain of this movie remains a mystery.
Ironically, it could be the villain who is the "Diamond Arm". We only see her hand in the movie and her extremely safe door. That is the only comedic relief given to her. She has no dialogues, no weird face, nothing. An arm and a door. That is it.
It adds so much to her character. It begs the viewer to anticipate her big entrance. Her big move. The big climax. But it never comes. It keeps you biting your nails and waiting for her to do something outrageous. But all she does is wave her diamond-filled hand and lock the door. The henchmen do all the work and fill in the role of portraying how powerful and dangerous she is. A brilliant way to add character to a mysterious role.
Watch the full movie here, all screenshots taken directly from the movie.
