Russian Roulette is a 2005 psychological thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks and Joe Wright. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, John Malkovich, and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
It tells the story of an American played by DiCaprio who travels to Russia to participate in a game of Russian Roulette with five other players. He has no idea who his opponent is. .
The film’s plot revolves around the player’s paranoia and fear as they attempt to survive the game. The player eventually finds out that his opponent is himself, and that he has been playing the game for years without knowing it.
The film concludes with the player’s decision to shoot himself.
Russian Roulette received mixed reviews from critics but was a box office success, grossing over $378 million worldwide. Some have compared the film to Scorsese’s own Taxi Driver (1976), which also starred DiCaprio.
In his review for Rotten Tomatoes, critic Scott Foundas wrote that “the movie never quite gels as an organism” but that it is “exhilarating when it works”.
