Director Michal Gazda’s latest venture, Justice, is a zero-risk, copybook crime thriller that treads a recognizable, worn-out path of troubled investigators engaging in a cat and mouse game with socially downtrodden criminals and, in the process, acting as the state’s mechanism that maintains the existing status quo. The fact that the movie follows a pretty basic set-up and events play out in exactly the way anyone would have guessed might sound bland on paper, but it actually ends up being pretty entertaining as a period piece with 90s Poland as the backdrop. Not every thriller needs to be an out-of-the box cerebral exercise; the audience can choose to enjoy simple things they tend to miss in more complex narratives. To compensate for the lack of intrigue, Justice boasts a cinematography that simultaneously captures the beauty of the Polish landscape, the rising urbanization of Warsaw in the contemporary era, and transformation in the rural scene—grounding the story in the reality of the time.Â
Spoilers Ahead
Who Are Gadacz’s Prime Suspects?
The fall of communism in Poland in 1989 resulted in a number of changes in the country’s socio-political atmosphere, which included the disappearance of communist security services. As the movie opens, we meet excommunicated security service officer Gadacz, who is summoned back to his former workplace in Warsaw to investigate a bank robbery case that also involves the brutal murder of multiple female employees. With banking mergers and privatizations of banks about to take place within a short period of time, this incident presents a troublesome mess that needs to be sorted out properly—and that’s where Gadacz comes into the picture, as his investigative skills are unparalleled. In fact, right after stepping foot in the crime scene, Gadacz rightly deduces that multiple persons were involved in the murder/robbery and puts rest to the initial assumption of the security guard being the culprit—by discovering his corpse.
Gadacz is paired with newly promoted Officer Aleksandra Janicks and given a two-week deadline to solve the case. Janicks, on the other hand, is instructed by her superiors to keep a close watch on Gadacz and report on him in secret. A driven, ruthless, and efficient investigator, Gadacz has ended up ruining his personal life in a desperate attempt to excel in his professional one—and laments his separation from his daughter and granddaughter. Aleksandra’s personal life is kind of a mess as well, as she has lost custody of her daughter following the separation with her husband. Pretty early into the investigation, Gadacz suspects the security guard, Kacper Surmiak, who traded his shift that day with the deceased guard, to be involved with the incident. Interrogating Surmiak, the names of his close friends, Bartek and Marek, pop up as well, who suspiciously enough corroborate Surmiak’s alibi with startling accuracy. Gadacz arranges for the means to wiretap Surmiak’s apartment to pry information out of him and puts the heat on the close ones of the three prime suspects, hoping for a slip-up on their part.
Surmiak’s Personal Motive
Gadacz’s assessment is correct, as it is revealed that Surmiak was assisted by his friends to sneak into the bank, and as the situation went out of hand, he ended up killing the employees to maintain his cover. Bartek and Marek had their reasons to join Surmiak’s robbery attempt, while for Surmiak the reason was much more personal. It is revealed that Surmiak and his sister Ewa lost both their parents, and Ewa was put under foster care, much to her elder brother’s dismay, who wanted to protect his sister by staying by her side. Surmiak, who remembers their mother taking her own life after getting tricked by loan sharks, who didn’t receive respect even after passing as her grave was made outside the graveyard, knows money to be the only reality of life that matters. Which is why it is understandable as to why he thinks if he obtains a huge sum, he will be given the custody of Ewa. Surmiak was the mastermind of the operation, and this was his sole motive from the beginning—and Gadacz learns about this eventually. Gadacz continues to play mind games with Surmiak by taunting him with his past, and a desperate Surmiak tries to eliminate him by seeking help from a mob boss, only to realize that Gadacz’ reach is way too deep for Surmiak to pose any threat to him. The former security service officer warns Surmiak by reminding him that it is only a matter of time until he and his friends fall into traps of their own making.
Did Gadacz Capture the Robbers At The End?
Despite having obtained recorded conversation and other key details about the robbery, Gadacz and Aleksandra couldn’t gather strong circumstantial evidence or confessions—which are needed to prove the trio to be guilty at the court. However, opportunity arrived in the most unexpected way, as a frail-minded Bartek started feeling pangs of guilt and faced psychological troubles after getting reminded of the murders during the bank robbery. Knowing this, a cunning Gadacz sent him an image of one of the victims, triggering Bartek’s guilt even further, who almost arrives at the police station to share his confession. However, Surmiak manages to compose his friend, and taking him away to the wilderness, he murders him. This results in a rift between Surmiak and Merek, who feels betrayed at Surmiak’s actions and decides to turn on him. Merek drops a truth bomb, saying that Ewa is better off without Surmiak, as she is in better hands; at least she can have a peaceful, normal life, which her brother can never offer her. Surmiak ends up murdering Merek too and gets taken into custody—and still he continues to hope for an escape out of this mess as he pins the blame on his friends. Gadacz delivers a violent beatdown to Surmiak while questioning him in the interrogation room. Surmiak is allowed to leave for the time being.
The most vital piece of evidence linked to the case that Gadacz recovers is the murder weapon, which turns out to be the firearm of a newly recruited soldier, Henio, who is a friend of the suspect trio. The trio had attended Henio’s swearing-in ceremony, and ended up stealing his weapon before the operation, and after killing the bank employees using it, returned the weapon to Henio. The bullets found in the bodies of the victims directly connect the trio to the murders, and there is no saving Surmiak now. Realizing how badly odds have stacked up against him, Surmiak pays a final visit to his sister, and Gadacz leads the police to the location, as he is aware that Surmiak’s brotherly love will compel him to meet his sister for the last time. Bidding farewell to his sister, Surmiak confronts the police, who end up gunning him to death in suspicion of him trying to obtain his weapon, when in reality, Surmiak was taking a piece of puzzle his sister was last seen playing with.
At the end, merger and privatization of banks take place as scheduled; Aleksandra is honored for her contribution to the case, while Gadacz is allowed to live a civilian’s life. As the Justice movie reaches its final moments, Gadacz is seen trying to reconcile with his family as he presumably calls his granddaughter.Â