SummaryAfter the Russian revolution, Count Alexander Rostov (Ewan McGregor) builds a new life while under house arrest in the Hotel Metropol in this adaptation of the novel of the same name by Amor Towles.
SummaryAfter the Russian revolution, Count Alexander Rostov (Ewan McGregor) builds a new life while under house arrest in the Hotel Metropol in this adaptation of the novel of the same name by Amor Towles.
McGregor offers a masterclass in acting; he is consistently charming, warm, and eye-catching at all times. Some might find McGregor’s Rostov to be too twee or his cheerfulness false, but his charisma and hopefulness read authentic, which even the harshest of cynics would be forced to admit. The often bleak energy of the show is buoyed by McGregor’s winsome and earnest nature.
McGregor’s performance is key to the success of A Gentleman In Moscow, a series which has its dark moments, but is a whole lot more hopeful than it seems on the surface.
A Gentleman in Moscow lives up to the expectations set by Towles’ novel and delivers a sprawling historical epic contained within the walls of a single location.
Because of that slight imbalance, and because the decades-spanning story doesn’t have quite enough incident to fill eight hours, A Gentleman in Moscow turns out to be a relative rarity: the prestige drama hangout show. It can be funny at times, deeply sad at others, and occasionally even surprising. Mostly, though, it works because the Count and the makeshift family he’s forced to create within the walls of the Metropol are so appealing.