Rasputin - Director's Cut
Genre: Biography/Historical
Director: Rodrigo Garcia
Writer: Dwight Gallo
Cast: Johnny Depp, Vera Farmiga, Danny Huston, Rufus Sewell, Nicholas Hoult
Plot: Siberia - 1900. Grigori Rasputin (Johnny Depp) is hiking through the Siberian tundra. The snow is blowing hard, creating near whiteout conditions. Rasputin, exhausted, collapses to the icey ground. He seems resigned to the fate of freezing to death in the ice and snow. He looks up and sees a vision of the Virgin Mary standing before him. She reaches her hand out to Rasputin, helping him get back on to his feet and keep moving out of harm's way.
St. Petersburg - 1914. Russian Tsar Nicholas Romanov II (Danny Huston) pleads with the family's court physician, Dr. Eugene Botkin (Rufus Sewell), to find a cure for the mysterious illness his young son Alexei is afflicted with, which is causing blood clotting and severe bruising. Botkin apologizes to Nicholas for being unable to stop young Alexei's pain and suffering. Nicholas' wife and Alexei's mother, Alexandra (Vera Farmiga), tells her husband and Dr. Botkin that she has heard wondrous things about a spiritual healer named Rasputin.
Rasputin, now a famous monk renowned for his blessings, arrives at the Tsar's palace and taken into Alexei's chambers. Rasputin asks Alexei about his leg, which shocks Nicholas and Alexandra as neither of them have told Rasputin any specifics of Alexei's condition yet. Rasputin leads the family in a prayer with his hands on Alexei's leg. As the prayer comes to a close, Rasputin grimaces in pain. He then stands up to walk away, limping as he walks. Alexandra is stunned, believing that Rasputin must have absorbed Alexei's pain onto his own body. Nicholas follows Rasputin out of the room and asks him how he knew about Alexei's leg. Rasputin responds that the Virgin Mary gave him all the information he needed and sent him to heal Alexei.
The next morning, Alexei wakes up and gets out of bed and begins walking around without pain. Alexei and his mother Alexandra both believe that Rasputin has provided their family with a miracle from the heavens. Dr. Botkin tries to explain to the family that he believes the most recent treatment he had administered is responsible for the healing, not some mystic from the tundra.
Alexandra pays Rasputin a visit in his spartan shack outside of the city to thank him. Rasputin asks her if she truly believes in God. She says she does, but Rasputin doubts her faith, suggesting that her half-hearted prayers are the reason Alexei's condition got as bad as it did. Alexandra asks Rasputin to move into the palace with her family, offering him his own chamber in the palace.
Nicholas refuses Rasputin a place in his palace, even with Alexandra pleading with him. Suddenly, the is a commotion as Alexei has begun having a severe nosebleed. Alexandra begs Rasputin to heal her son again. Rasputin heals Alexei, in front of Alexandra, Nicholas and Dr. Botkin. Nicholas finally believes that Rasputin actually has healing abilities, but Dr. Botkin is unconvinced.
A young woman comes to Rasputin, asking to be blessed by him. Rasputin tells her that she must sin in order to for him to absolve her. She asks what she should do. Rasputin disrobes her and has sex with her in his chambers. Botkin hears the sounds of coitus and approaches Nicholas with his suspicions that Rasputin is merely a charlatan who is abusing his new position as a healer to the Tsar and his family. Later that night, Nicholas goes to confront Rasputin about Botkin's accusations, finding Rasputin a drunken mess. Nicholas expresses anger toward Rasputin, who then goes on a rant about the Imperialism, and Nicholas being an unfit leader for the people of Russia. Nicholas orders Rasputin out of his palace and out of St. Petersburg. On his way out of the palace, Rasputin loudly predicts a terrible future for Russia and the royal family.
One month later, World War I begins. Alexei suffers another severe bleeding. Alexandra begs Nicholas to make a telephone call to Rasputin, hoping that he can work his magic to once again cure Alexei. Nicholas refuses, causing Alexandra to begin hurling objects at her husband. Nicholas finally yells that he'll make a call. Sure enough, Rasputin manages to stop Alexei's bleeding over the phone. Nicholas, seeing his son once again feeling better, invites Rasputin back to the palace, but urges him to stop any funny business he may have going on.
World War I wages on, and the Russian troops are dying by the millions in a futile war effort. Alexandra finds Rasputin a drunken mess in the palace's main hall. She asks what's wrong with him, and Rasputin confesses to her that the Virgin Mary has abandoned him and he doesn't know why. He cries at her feet in a pitiful display. Alexandra is disgusted by the drunk crying man. She finally realizes that Rasputin is no prophet, he's just a broken down drunk, a fraud. She walks away from Rasputin with her head down.
Sentiment against the Imperial family and their spiritual advisor Rasputin rapidly increases through the country. The common people, the families broken by deaths in a losing war effort, begin to blame them for all the country's current troubles.
Prince Felix Yusupov (Nicholas Hoult) has converted a wing of one of his family's palaces into a medical center for wounded soldiers. He becomes horrified at the sight of the wounded and suffering men fighting for his country. He believes that the influence of Rasputin has ruined the country as it has hindered the Tsar and the Tsarina from focusing on leading the country during such a trying time.
Felix invites Rasputin to his family's palace in St. Petersburg under the guise of soliciting his services as a healer and spiritual advisor. Rasputin, feeling he has overplayed his hand with the Tsar and his family, accepts the offer to visit over lunch to discuss the possibilities. At the Yusupov Palace, Felix offers Rasputin cake and wine, which Rasputin gluttonesly eats up. Rasputin then informs Felix that he knows the food and wine are poisoned, but that they have no effect on him. Felix is stunned. Felix then pulls out a gun and shoots Rasputin in the head at close range. The gunshot does not kill Rasputin, who gets up and walks out of the room. He stumbles out of the palace and into the snowy courtyard. Felix shoots Rasputin four more times. Only then does Rasputin finally fall down and die.
Upon hearing of Rasputin's demise, Alexandra enters his chamber and finds a letter. It reveals that Rasputin knew he was to be murdered and those killing him would be of a noble bloodline. Alexandra continues reading, finally reaching a part of the letter where Rasputin predicts the Imperial Family will be dead without two years. Alexandra drops the letter to the floor.
In 1917, Nicholas and his family flee their Imperial Palace and go into exile. In 1918, less than two years after the murder of Grigori Rasputin, the entire Romanov family are executed by Communist revolutionaries and buried in unmarked graves.
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