With longevity and range like Udo Kier, it was only a matter of time before the legendary star was considered an amalgamation of a potential Adolf Hitler. Playing into the rumours and conspiracies that Hitler escaped death and fled to South America, My Neighbour Adolf is not the most interesting of premises, although it is the trust in Kier and David Hayman to make this work that director Leon Prudovsky has. That appears misplaced in this novelty piece that showcases a Holocaust survivor believed to have lived next to the disgusting Nazi Party leader himself. Does he do that because he has reason to believe so? Is he bored? The audience surely must be when traipsing through this post-war piece.
Light moments of everyday family drama provide an opportunity to showcase the unit that has since been lost. A family is torn apart by war and still, clearly, healing. It is that isolation Hayman fails to play up despite it being integral to the belief held by his character. Weak and simplistic moments of humour, with a self-timing camera and the obvious allusions to a horrid criminal next door the obvious moments to play for. There is a warmness despite the cold horror show on display, though. My Neighbour Adolf finds himself in the company of grumpy old men, ruminating on the puzzle pages of a newspaper and making sure they keep their minds as healthy as they can in their elderly age. But that isolation comes with a burden that is shown with a light-hearted yet clearly serious concern, one that shows how the tender age can make the brain come away like bits of cake.
Inevitably, the realisation must be made. My Neighbour Adolf handles the dismay and shock well, but the score does very little to set the tone. Hayman comes to life here, prompted by those little features of Kier. Much of My Neighbour Adolf depends on the Rear Window-like setting, where Hayman, confined to his home, begins to look for the so-called Hitler next door. There are the slow embers of mania settling in, with Mr. Polsky (Hayman) soon turning his room into a replica of that one episode of Father Ted that has the priest collecting nothing but Axis powers memorabilia. It is as light as it is likeable, and much of it is the quality of the message at the core of it. Appearances are deceiving, and the mania of isolation can make people believe the craziest of things. Whether or not they find the truth is an aside, they still appear insane.
Black roses grow on the borders of these neighbours. It would be too easy to strike into My Neighbour Adolf as a piece showcasing the defiance of post-war Poland and the historic nature of conflict not just during the Second World War but the period after it. Prudovsky has some interesting elements and a nice bit to play around with, although his directing could do with some work. The achingly slow-moving camera when no movement is needed is a strange choice, and he often relies on establishing shots that do little. Extreme close-ups dictate conflict, when deep down it all comes back to those black roses, a neighbourly squabble that has much weight to it despite The Odd Couple feel from Kier and Hayman.
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