"Silk Road" is the story of Ross Ulbricht, who wanted to become the Mark Zuckerberg of the darknet.

On March 11, a film with a very telling Russian localized title "Asotsialnaya set" (Silk Road) hits theaters. The film is dedicated to the creation of the scandalous anonymous trading platform Silk Road and its founder Ross Ulbricht, played by Nick Robinson (). But we hasten to disappoint right away — this is by no means the level of David Fincher's cult work "The Social Network," despite the obvious parallels.

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Are There Limits to Freedom

A young guy named Ross is firmly convinced that libertarianism is the only path in modern life, and no laws, conventional morality, or other restrictions should hinder him. Even when it comes to drug or weapons trafficking. In an attempt to promote his vision to the masses and also to make money, Ross creates the Silk Road platform on the darknet, where anyone can buy weed and other stimulants while remaining completely anonymous. It helps that at the same time, the popularity of a currency like Bitcoin is skyrocketing.

Not Just a Biography

It is commendable that the creators of "Silk Road" tried not only to tell a standard biographical story but also to demonstrate the clash between past and present. Representing the former is the character of Jason Clarke, a special agent who can easily resort to the dirtiest methods to achieve justice. Their confrontation with Ross, starting with a fake online friendship, serves as the main driver of the plot. Along with it, the filmmakers inevitably raise questions about how much we can trust people on the internet, whether complete anonymity is possible, and to what extent impunity can go.

The real story of Ross Ulbricht was not rich in any thrilling events that could add emotion and dynamics to the narrative. But on the other hand, we all remember how David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin managed to turn a talky film about the creation of Facebook and the intellectual confrontations of ambitious students into a truly gripping blockbuster. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for "Silk Road."

Despite a not-so-trivial plot for a stagnant genre, director Tiller Russell's work turned out simply boring. It lacks tension, dynamics, emotional outbursts, and interesting dialogue. Actors Robinson and Clarke try their best, and at times they even manage to elevate the unimpressive dramaturgy, but it's still not enough.

In the end, "Silk Road" is a film whose plot neatly fits into a couple of sentences from Ross Ulbricht's Wikipedia biography and offers nothing extraordinary that would recommend it to anyone except personal fans of Nick Robinson and Jason Clarke's talents.

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