It seems apt, as I celebrate one year on Substack this week, that I go back to an actor I initially discussed in my very first post on this platform :-
Back then, at Star Wars celebration, when my son and I met his favourite actor, Ewan McGregor, we both commented on his rather different haircut and moustache. Turns out this was for a show he was shooting called “A Gentleman in Moscow” which was an adaptation of the best selling novel of the same name by Amor Towles.
The story is set in Moscow in 1921, four years after the revolution, where the aristocracy are facing trials and executions. We are introduced to Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov (McGregor) who manages to avoid death by being credited with supposedly having written a poem that sided with the revolutionaries. This gives him well needed kudos in what happens next.
Rather than being sent to a labour camp or some other punishment, he is returned back to the Metropol Hotel where he had been staying. He continues to receive free food and board, but is stripped of his luxury suite along with most of his possessions, and warned he will be shot if he steps outside the front door.
So, we are left in the Count’s elegant company as he tries to stay out of trouble in this glamorous prison, but also keep himself entertained by exploring his surroundings and meeting other guests that happen across his path. These include Nina (Alexa Goodall) a curious nine year old who knows where all the hotel secret passages and hidden treasures are kept, and Anna Urbanova (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) a glamorous but hard nosed actress that Rostov falls for.
I have to say that I did try to read the book but just couldn’t get into it. I didn’t find the characters interesting enough, and gave up after about one hundred pages. The show however, is an entirely different matter. And the reason for that is the wonderful cast.
McGregor is an excellent actor who too often doesn’t get the roles he deserves. As I’ve mentioned before, the sneering criticism of the Star Wars prequels was way over the top. OK, he might be a bit ropey in Phantom Menace but that’s down to the script rather than his performance. In the rest of the movies he more than holds his own, and his confrontation with Anakin at the end of Revenge of the Sith is still an incredibly powerful moment. One that is brilliantly mirrored in the last episode of Kenobi, the Disney Plus series from last year, which I really enjoyed despite all the nonsense swirling about it that I also spoke about in my first article.
Plus, if you look back at his filmography there are some duds in there, but also a lot of good work especially with the likes of the lesser seen Big Fish (which I’ve written about before) and Doctor Sleep, which I find much better than the book.
Here he is at his most dashing and debonair, whether that’s regaling us with stories from his past, or getting involved in bar fights with people who have forgotten their manners. And yet, there is also a deep sadness in his eyes for what he has lost, and we watch as the layers of these tragedies are peeled back as the show goes on.
And that is the same for all the characters. Yes, this could be considered somewhat light hearted, perfect Sunday afternoon fare, but there is darkness here too. Be it with Johnny Harris as Rostov’s nemesis, the unblinking policeman, Osip who is just desperate for any excuse to have the count killed, or Paul Ready as Prince Nikolai who is living in exile trying to find joy in his last days, it is not all easy going fluff.
That being said, the time you spend in the Metropol with McGregor is utterly charming that, even after only after only 3 episodes, I really don’t want to leave.
Whilst I’m casting up old articles, I also wrote about the strange situation with Apple TV where most of their great shows begin with the letter “S". Slow Horses, Severance and Silo to name but a few. So, I had high hopes for Sugar starring Colin Farrell that started the other week.
The show begins in black and white with a hard boiled private investigator, John Sugar (Farrell) tracking down the son of Yakuza boss in Tokyo. Here we get to see that Sugar is a fair man trying to do a hard job with as little violence as possible.
He makes his way back to the US where he is hired by Hollywood big shot, Jonathan Siegel (James Cromwell - which immediately makes you think of the last great noir movie in LA Confidential) to find his missing granddaughter. This is a big deal to our (anti) hero as he’s a huge movie buff, but also because the missing girl reminds him of someone called “Jen” so he feels compelled to take the case.
I have only watched the first episode so far and the show seems to have all the trappings of The Big Sleep and other Chandler classics. There’s missing people, mysterious women in bars drinking whisky, snappy dialogue and our main character driving through the city at night, in an old fashioned sports car, whilst a weary voice over explains the ways of this world to the audience.
So far, so predictable. And yet, there’s something else going on here.
Supposedly alcohol has no affect on his metabolism which doesn’t seem that a big deal, and then we see him suffer from muscle spasms, hallucinations and blackouts which he has to self medicate against by injecting an unknown substance into his neck, which can’t be pleasant.
There’s supposedly a big twist later in the show which I’m not interested in learning about before hand, but the story telling does just feel a little off. I’m not sure if it’s deliberate, but it reminded me of the beginning to the TV series of Westworld. Where, you think you’re in a western, but it’s such a cliched version that you know everything isn’t what it seems.
It’s a strange one and I’m not quite sure where it’s going. However, I think I’ll stick with it for now. Farrell is great and is ably supported by Cromwell and Amy Ryan as Melanie, the stepmother of the missing girl who may know more than she’s letting on.
All in all, an intriguing premise that could turn into something pretty special, or could be a cliche riddled mess. Let’s wait and see.
That’s all for this week. I have the latest episode of Shogun to watch tonight, which, as I predicted when I first started watching, has easily become my TV show of the year so far. Absolutely top notch entertainment and I can’t wait to see how they wrap up all the story strands.
I’m hoping to get back to the longer form of reviews and analysis about my favourite films and characters at some point but, unfortunately, finding the time is proving to be a real challenge. However, there’s plenty of new shows and movies coming along that look really interesting, so I’ll be casting my eyes over them in the next few weeks and hoping to find a few gems along the way. Whether they’ll get anywhere close to Shogun remains to be seen!
Anyway, thanks for reading. Until next time.
Count Rostov? Prince Nikolai? Are we talking War & Peace?? 😅 Haven’t heard of Sugar, will check. And yessss Shogun! 🙌
Good read, Dan. Didn't know about the first show. Interesting.
I saw the image for Sugar and passed it by without a second thought for some reason. Sounds way more interesting than I figured it would be. Guess I shouldn't judge a show by its thumbnail 😆
What did you make of Silo? Did you talk about it here? I can't recall.