Previewing A Gentleman in Moscow

 

The communist revolution of 1917 in Russia saw the execution of the royal family.  During the next four years the Leninist re-organized the country.  The tsarist aristocracy was eradicated.  This is the setting for A Gentleman in Moscow where Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan) plays Count Alexander Rostov, whose life is spared after a poem attributed to him is presented at his hearing.  Though he has been sentenced to live the rest of his days in the hotel he had been living in.  Though he is resigned to the servants quarters of the hotel and if he ever leaves the hotel he will be shot on sight.  But hey, he eats for free at the very upscale restaurant inside the hotel. 

 

The story picks up when he runs into a precocious young girl who just happens to know all the secrets of the hotel.  Where are her parents?  Who knows.   That she does not interact with anyone else in the first couple episodes will lead to some speculation.  Is she even real?  It is she is the narrator of the show.

 

Another occupant is Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Asoka).  She is usually good in everything, but she does not really pull of a glamorous Russian actress.  The wig and accent (which, much like The Great is not Russian, but English) really do not work here. Thankfully the wig disappears after a couple episodes.  Johnny Harris (Without Sin) plays Rostov’s jailor with menace.  Fehinti Balogun (Dune) shows up as Rostov’s old friend who was also part of the revolution.

 

A Gentleman in Moscow is a well-crafted miniseries that can humorous as it is heartfelt.  In just eight episodes, the writers get you to get really invested in these characters, even the ones that do not even show up until the second half of the season while the story barrels to a thrilling conclusion after spending decades within the hotel.

 

A Gentleman in Moscow premieres today on Paramount+ with Showtime and will air Sundays at 9:00 on Showtime.