A Gentleman in Moscow

I loved this series, especially Ewan McGregor is as excellent as always & so was the actor who played his captor. The set was magnificent!!!

My only complaint for a beautifully written and Art Directed series is the utterly ridiculous and insensitive "diversity " casting. What an insult to all Russians that their culture is trivialised by casting people of all different ethnicities in roles that are historically completely incorrect. Millions died in this revolution and each culture deserves the respect by movies and TV to not smother it in silly PC characters. Would they remake ROOTS with an Asian cast? No, because that would be an insult to that culture. It's also so distracting as you cannot suspend your disbelief when the clang of the casting smothers every scene.

I am a huge fan of the novel, A Gentlman in Moscow and Amor Towles other novels. It is an instant classic. I have been waiting for a year or more for the television series but I am reserving judgement until I can see all the episodes. To write a review before based on a couple of episodes is ridiculous. The book is a work of art and reads like a fable. It is not intended to be a history of the Russian revolution. It is about the triumph of the human spirit against authoritarianism, ignited by the spirit of a unique young girl. It is charming, profound and beautifully written.

The author is on record saying he is very happy with the adaptation so I am eagerly waiting to see it in its entirety before passing judgement. Any video adaptation of a book has to leave out a lot of nuance and rarely works well. To me the book is inevitably better as it can accommodate much more detail but, given the author's enthusiasm, I am optimistic and await the full series with great anticipation.

Great story line. I have not read the book but would like to point out that Russia's Black population has been, and still is near zero.

I understand the need to maintain an unbiased acting crew thus the description should be changed to Fictional Drama.

The series is entertaining but certainly not historical. Ewan McGregor does an excellent performance as the victimized product of the Russian Revolution.

For those unfamiliar with actual history the importance of informing the viewers that the show is an entire work of fiction by using a period in time and place to create a fairytale, which is what a Gentleman in Moscow is.

Whoever came up with such a brilliant idea as casting black/brown or clearly "Mediterranean" people as ethnic Russians deserves the order of the Soviet Union's labor champion.

For someone who saw the USSR as it was before its fall, this series is some kind of black comedy. And it's a shame - because there is potential in the script and execution.

Unfortunately, such good material fell victim to contemporary politics which perfectly resembles the communist Soviet madness. It's a bit like irony made a big circle and kicked the creators in their bare buttocks.

There is also a lack of "Russian soul", in both positive and negative sense. You can feel that this is a Western vision of the East created without "physical" knowledge of the issue "Russia is a state of mind" - this is a saying that requires a deeper understanding to properly convey it.

I LOVED the book LOVED IT . I have anxiously waited for the adaptation .

1) DEAR PRODUCERS ... stop rewriting history !! The Black actors were great ! BUT there were basically no black in the Soviet Union then and now . This drives me CRAZY. Something campy like Bridgerton, I could ok , let it go . BUT not in a serious show where the HISTORY is central to the plot .

2) I was not expecting Ewan McGregor as Rostov. I am DELIGHTED by his performance. I think he did FANTASTIC .

3)The directing and cinema photography was sublime.

4) The actor that plays the evil commie hotel manager did a wonderful job .. I have pure hatred for him.

I gave this 8/10 because of color blind casting. I would have done less except everything else was superb .