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Is Matthew Weiner's series of anthologies, The Romanoffs, as successful as the first show he's created, Mad Men? In a word, no.
Is it almost as good in a different way? Not really.
Is it good at all? Of course, but in light and discreet pieces rather than in the general scheme, which follows contemporary figures who believe or claim to be descendants of the murdered Russian tsar's family, Tsar Nicholas II. With the exception of this tenuous link, each of the eight episodes features different stories, settings, and characters.
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The concept is rich in opportunities for exploring class, identity, family history and the persistent obsession of the 21st century for royalty. But Weiner just takes a look at these themes. Instead, he discovers beautiful places – the series was shot in seven countries in Europe, North America and Asia – and sends characters as flat as cardboard cutouts.
The last supposedly intelligent touch of the second episode is simply implausible
The most powerful echo of Mad Men arrives at the opening credits. The camera slides into the halls of a Russian palace, where ancestral and royal portraits have passed. The Tsar and his family enter another room and the refugee of Tom Petty's suddenly blows on the soundtrack. Bolshevik soldiers start firing and the Romanoffs become bloody corpses on the ground. If different from Mad Men, the sequence shares its dynamism.
Nothing else in the first two episodes is close to the visceral attraction of openness. The first episode, The Violet Hour, takes place in Paris. Taking advantage of the pretty streets adjacent to the postcards, walks along the Seine and glorious glides of light, it offers the entertaining and evocative atmosphere of a travel show.
Marthe Keller incarnates with compelling fervor Anastasia Le Charnay, a tall lady living in a sumptuous apartment, where a Russian icon and a giant Faberge egg sit on a shelf. His American nephew, Greg (Aaron Eckhart), and his heartless girlfriend have the intention to inherit from there, the sooner the better. Extremely proud of her Romanoff heritage, the aunt is also a racist who reacts to the arrival of her new Muslim caregiver, Hajar, saying, "Take your bombs and go home.
The backdrop is more fun and revealing than the main plot
Inès Melab is wonderfully nuanced and enigmatic like Hajar. All the actors are doing what they can, but Weiner, who directed each episode, is only sketching the heartache, greed, duplicity and ethnic identity of the characters, as he embarks on a final plot and easy. This is the kind of short and short story end that a short film could get away with. But this episode lasts nearly 90 minutes, which gives the characters enough time to develop.
Royal connections
The second episode, The Royal We, does very little with the irony of its title. Corey Stoll plays Michael Romanoff and Kerry Bishé is his wife, Shelly. It is an American middle-class couple that we see for the first time in this cliché place, the marriage counselor's office. Michael takes advantage of his jury duty to meet another juror, while Shelly goes on a cruise and flirts with a Roman-by-marriage, Ivan (Noah Wyle). There is a sad current in the theme that no one is ever really happy. It's a pity that Michael and Shelly declare it frankly, at different times. It's impossible to be sorry for Michael, who has the emotional maturity of 15, or Shelly, who seems resigned to a mediocre life. And the last supposed intelligent remake of this episode is simply improbable.
The backdrop is more fun and revealing than the main plot. Shelly's cruise ship includes a descendants convention by Romanoff, whose grand ball is a kitsch comedy for everyone except serious guests. In tiaras and monocles, they cosplay their heritage as if they expected Nicholas and Alexandra to be part of it. The dinner show features a historical reenactment featuring the Tsar's last family, as well as Rasputin, all performed by dwarven actors. Only Shelly and Ivan recognize the show for the offending show by its beauty. If only Weiner had devoted more time to these deceived Romanoffs. Or maybe he's going. Only three episodes were sent to critics, so who knows?
At the time of the Mad Men, Weiner was famous for controlling information on future episodes, and that did not change. Of these first three payments, the third is embargoed and can not be examined now, which seems extremely counterproductive. If this episode, which starred Isabelle Huppert as a director of a Mad Men's Romanoffs and Christina Hendricks miniseries as an actress playing the role of the Tsarina, has turned out to be stunning , perhaps supernatural and more intriguing than others – well, I would not do it. t be allowed to say.
It is understandable that the creator of a culturally important series like Mad Men, which will probably be his greatest achievement, wants to move forward with a whole new model. It is incomprehensible that The Romanoffs is so indulgent and foolish.
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