Time With "A Gentleman in Moscow"

I'm not surprised that "A Gentleman in Moscow" is based on a novel.  The eight episode Showtime series 

charts the fortunes of a group of characters in the aftermath of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution.  Each episode opens with narration to help measure the passage of time, and bring the watcher up to speed on where we are in Russian history.

Ewan McGregor stars as Count Rostov, a genial aristocrat who is spared from the purge because his writing is believed to have helped the Revolution.  However, he is judged and sentenced to live the remainder of his life in the Hotel Metropol in Moscow.  Rostov becomes a permanent guest at the hotel, under the watchful eye of the menacing Soviet official, Glebnikov (Johnny Harris).  He meets an actress, Anna Urbanova (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who eventually becomes his lover and close confidante.   His old school friend Mishka (Fehinti Balogun), a Communist writer, also visits him often.  However, his most constant companion is Nina Kulikova (Alexa Goodall), the young daughter of a hotel employee who is curious about Rostov's life as an aristocrat.

I watched "A Gentleman in Moscow" specifically for Ewan MacGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and wasn't disappointed.  Both of them have very entertaining roles in the show, but they're in  a more sedate and old-fashioned sort of costume drama than I was expecting.  Count Rostov is a tragic figure, a man forced to stay on the sidelines of history, largely cut off from friends and family, while trying to reconcile with the ghosts of his past.  He makes a fulfilling life for himself in the Hotel Metropol, as he struggles to retain what little he can of his old life and worldview, but it's an existence that is constantly marked by tragedy.  It's all very melancholy and very Russian, though the finale gives Rostov a final shot at doing something meaningful, and wraps things up for all the characters in a satisfying way.

History lovers should be warned that the show isn't very interested in actual Russian or Soviet history, with elements of the story frequently taking on a fanciful, fairy tale quality, especially in the earliest episodes with young Nina.  The show also uses colorblind casting, so Fehinti Balogun from "I May Destroy You" can play Mishka, and Leah Harvey from "Foundation" can play Marina, one of the hotel employees who befriends Rostov.  The hotel itself is real, but was used as offices for the new Soviet bureaucracy for a good chunk of the time that "A Gentleman in Moscow" takes place.  The show turns it into a romantic sort of nexus for international travel, and there are secret rooms and hidden passages, of course.    

The series changes from episode to episode as each installment takes place further and further in time from the last, but not as much as I was expecting.  Some characters age significantly, while others barely seem to change, even after decades.  Even using the most generous reading that we're seeing things from Rostov's subjective viewpoint, a show that spans thirty years could stand to spend more effort showing the passage of time.  Instead, references to Russian history serve as our guideposts, and unfortunately I wasn't well versed enough in the subject for the mentions of Khruschev or Nazi mobilization to be of much help.    

However, the show is well written and charming enough for me to overlook a lot of its contrivances.  I like that it's slower paced and fairly low stakes, with Rostov rarely able to intercede in the events that he witnesses as much as he wants to.  I like that it spends a lot of time contemplating the loss of a bygone era, and seeing Rostov find a place for himself in the new order, even if it's a low status one.  And I'm glad that MacGregor got to play this role, and didn't bother about trying to do it with a Russian accent.  

Finally, the show has my favorite opening sequence of anything I've seen all year.  I'm a sucker for fancy animation, and the artful use of Soviet graphic design elements is just delightful.  It perfectly sets the tone for a show that is a little slower, a little more classical, and a little more of an old fashioned epic than you see much of nowadays.  And thank goodness for that.

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