A Gentleman in Moscow

This is a well-written and well-acted series. It's nice when a show or movie does not have to depend on special effects and action to be good.

As others have mentioned, I just have trouble believing some of the casting. It's bad enough that most of the actors have English accents. Having more Russian actors, or at least actors that look and sound Russian would have been preferable.

The most unbelievable aspect of the casting is the number of actors of African descent. I have a hard time believing there were that many (if any) people of African origin in Moscow at that time, and I'm sure none that would hold a position like Minister of Culture. Very unbelievable. I know when I visited Russia (including Moscow) around the year 2000, the only African people I saw were young, male African exchange students going to a university, and I saw less in all my travels around Russian than I see in one episode of this TV series.

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 .

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.

I really enjoyed the first episode, and look forward to the next.

Here's the deal: if you don't know the book, and you're looking for action, this won't be the show for you.

If you do know the book, you'll likely love it.

If, however, you don't know the book, and you enjoy a slow burn with great acting, you may be in luck.

Taking place shortly after the revolution, the plot revolves around the life of one of the last aristocrats of Russia. He's been imprisoned for life in a hotel, if he ever leaves, he'll be killed on the spot. Ejected out of his posh suites, he's forced to live in old servants quarters in the attic.

Episode one shows us a glimpse of his past, and gives us a sampling of his character. The Red Guard are everywhere, and have filled some of the hotel positions with spies, looking for traitors. Anyone deemed a threat is taken out of view and summarily executed by a bullet to the head.

It's a nice balance of whimsy and darkness, with a creature of politics and privilege navigating the murky waters of a revolution in progress. Will he survive? Will he be able to use his connections and intelligence to escape?

For myself, I can't wait to see where the story leads....

A Gentleman in Moscow is a wonderfully entertaining novel, full of pathos and subtlety.

I recently read an article where the author Amor Towles gave the green light on this adaptation and is Executive Producer. So I believed it to be in safe hands.

After watching two episodes I can say the cinematography, production and costume design are top rate. The casting is not. Ewan McGregor is a fine actor, however he cannot disguise entirely his Scottish accent which is jarring for a Russian Count. Some of the other actors come across as caricatures.

Because of the diverse casting policies now, one of the Russian Bolsheviks is played by a black man with dreadlocks which clearly would not exist in the 1920's.

History whether fact or fiction should be accurate in every way in my opinion.

I won't be bothering with the next episodes. I want to keep my memories of the book intact.