rich-mac
Joined Oct 2005
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rich-mac's rating
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rich-mac's rating
The effect when you watch such a finely detailed show as this is mesmerizing, it sucks you into the world and time ... and the culture.
Before an actor utters a single word in any episode there is the fact and nature of the world building that has been done in order to give them a stage to perform on. In the case of Shogun what has been accomplished is astounding, but it really comes into its own when the camera is tight and the sets and shots are relatively tightly constrained. Up close this world is utterly convincing - the costuming extraordinary.
The script is also exceptionally well written and manages to convey a deep sense of Japanese culture (primarily of the upper classes) - but also tells its story very economically - it provides ample opportunity for nuanced communication.
This brings us to the actors and the director and cinematographer who captured these subtleties - not easy to do with a light touch, managed here very deftly. The result is a show not over burdened with dialogue that tells part of its story some of its most significant moments, with gesture and response, subtle character action, a glance here, a hand movement, a tilt of the body, or the sweeping swish of fabric before composure again. On this level the show and its actors are quite magnificent - but there is room for special mention.
Anna Sawai as Mariko is as refined and elegant as you'd expect from a high born and well educated noblewoman of the era, she is thoroughly steeped in the culture, captured here in very fine detail - Sawai's minute control is truly something to behold - very special indeed. So also Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Toranaga - another brilliant and subtle performance from this fine actor.
I've read some nasty dismissal of Cosmo Jarvis' Blackthorne - they miss the point. Of course he is uncouth, brash, insensitive. Of course his energy clashes with everything around him and he seems clumsy and arrogant and a bit useless. That IS the point, and the reality. His character is completely out of time and place - culturally he may as well be on another planet. The way he walks and moves is an affront to centuries of careful aesthetic, the way he sits, the way he drinks, the way he looks at people - all a culture shock. English arrogance and insensitivity gets a turn in front of the mirror. Well done.
This show is sensational and ticks all the boxes - brilliant work by all involved. Not to be missed.
Before an actor utters a single word in any episode there is the fact and nature of the world building that has been done in order to give them a stage to perform on. In the case of Shogun what has been accomplished is astounding, but it really comes into its own when the camera is tight and the sets and shots are relatively tightly constrained. Up close this world is utterly convincing - the costuming extraordinary.
The script is also exceptionally well written and manages to convey a deep sense of Japanese culture (primarily of the upper classes) - but also tells its story very economically - it provides ample opportunity for nuanced communication.
This brings us to the actors and the director and cinematographer who captured these subtleties - not easy to do with a light touch, managed here very deftly. The result is a show not over burdened with dialogue that tells part of its story some of its most significant moments, with gesture and response, subtle character action, a glance here, a hand movement, a tilt of the body, or the sweeping swish of fabric before composure again. On this level the show and its actors are quite magnificent - but there is room for special mention.
Anna Sawai as Mariko is as refined and elegant as you'd expect from a high born and well educated noblewoman of the era, she is thoroughly steeped in the culture, captured here in very fine detail - Sawai's minute control is truly something to behold - very special indeed. So also Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Toranaga - another brilliant and subtle performance from this fine actor.
I've read some nasty dismissal of Cosmo Jarvis' Blackthorne - they miss the point. Of course he is uncouth, brash, insensitive. Of course his energy clashes with everything around him and he seems clumsy and arrogant and a bit useless. That IS the point, and the reality. His character is completely out of time and place - culturally he may as well be on another planet. The way he walks and moves is an affront to centuries of careful aesthetic, the way he sits, the way he drinks, the way he looks at people - all a culture shock. English arrogance and insensitivity gets a turn in front of the mirror. Well done.
This show is sensational and ticks all the boxes - brilliant work by all involved. Not to be missed.
The whole point of a show like this is to let it wash over you, to take you out of yourself, out of time, into another world. 'A Gentleman in Moscow' manages this astonishingly well.
We're getting used to seeing film quality production values in TV shows, and this show is no different, except perhaps in one key respect - music! The soundtrack for 'A Gentleman in Moscow' is sensational - it deftly provides some known classics, but the main game is Federico Jusid's heavily laced score - lush strings, sombre strings - sounded like Mahler there, Tchaikovsky here, some Chopin - all executed with a light touch that adds both depth and space to each moment and does a lot of work to halt the passage of time, so that the watching experience is like a suspension, like being held in an extended moment, as the bow draws out. Quite brilliant.
For me, this is the best work Ewan McGregor has ever done - has the most dynamic range and engagement.
Personally, I am glad the production didn't fall into the trap of false Russian accents and cultural short hands - I think they do more to take you out of the present than suck you into a reality - and I wonder if actors are at times so focused on getting accent and mannerism right that there's little room left for the really subtle moments of feeling and expression. Whatever the answer to that is - this show remains free of that burden and is unencumbered as a result - and McGregor and the rest of the cast make the most of that freedom.
As for comments on diversity etc - wow - anyone who knows anything about Russia knows that Russia is not just about white people. These kinds of criticisms, as if there have never been black men in Russia for example, are both plain ignorant and completely miss the point. They can be safely ignored as reasonable reviewers of this show - in fact they are unreasonable, self centred and culturally biased in a way that says everything about the reviewers views of the world and their entitlements. Get over yourselves and read some books, then do some learning.
This a deeply absorbing show that has been brilliantly executed. If you enjoy period dramas you should find plenty to like here - it has a rarely seen sophistication running through it. Excellent TV.
UPDATED After final episode: A Gentleman in Moscow is such a well made show on very level that it really doesn't deserve some of the criticism it has attracted in review. It's a made for TV 'adaption' of a book - it's not the book, was never intended to be the book, was always intended to have it's own style, and delivers things the book simply cannot deliver by way of difference. Sound (music) and vision, costuming, location, cinematography - all these bring their own contribution to the telling of a story, especially when it's an adaption.
It's not the book, get over it.
What it IS, is a brilliant piece of story-telling from a cast and crew who are clearly exceptional at their jobs. Their effort in rendering this story is something to be applauded not denigrated.
This is brilliant TV.
We're getting used to seeing film quality production values in TV shows, and this show is no different, except perhaps in one key respect - music! The soundtrack for 'A Gentleman in Moscow' is sensational - it deftly provides some known classics, but the main game is Federico Jusid's heavily laced score - lush strings, sombre strings - sounded like Mahler there, Tchaikovsky here, some Chopin - all executed with a light touch that adds both depth and space to each moment and does a lot of work to halt the passage of time, so that the watching experience is like a suspension, like being held in an extended moment, as the bow draws out. Quite brilliant.
For me, this is the best work Ewan McGregor has ever done - has the most dynamic range and engagement.
Personally, I am glad the production didn't fall into the trap of false Russian accents and cultural short hands - I think they do more to take you out of the present than suck you into a reality - and I wonder if actors are at times so focused on getting accent and mannerism right that there's little room left for the really subtle moments of feeling and expression. Whatever the answer to that is - this show remains free of that burden and is unencumbered as a result - and McGregor and the rest of the cast make the most of that freedom.
As for comments on diversity etc - wow - anyone who knows anything about Russia knows that Russia is not just about white people. These kinds of criticisms, as if there have never been black men in Russia for example, are both plain ignorant and completely miss the point. They can be safely ignored as reasonable reviewers of this show - in fact they are unreasonable, self centred and culturally biased in a way that says everything about the reviewers views of the world and their entitlements. Get over yourselves and read some books, then do some learning.
This a deeply absorbing show that has been brilliantly executed. If you enjoy period dramas you should find plenty to like here - it has a rarely seen sophistication running through it. Excellent TV.
UPDATED After final episode: A Gentleman in Moscow is such a well made show on very level that it really doesn't deserve some of the criticism it has attracted in review. It's a made for TV 'adaption' of a book - it's not the book, was never intended to be the book, was always intended to have it's own style, and delivers things the book simply cannot deliver by way of difference. Sound (music) and vision, costuming, location, cinematography - all these bring their own contribution to the telling of a story, especially when it's an adaption.
It's not the book, get over it.
What it IS, is a brilliant piece of story-telling from a cast and crew who are clearly exceptional at their jobs. Their effort in rendering this story is something to be applauded not denigrated.
This is brilliant TV.
Argylle is a rollicking lark of a movie.
It actually manages the delicate balance of being a spy movie thriller whilst completely taking the proverbial out of the genre with action scenes to rival any of the best spy thrillers.
To top that off, it has some great twists and turns in a very accomplished script - the kind of script that is indispensable to making ANY kind of a good movie in any genre - the kind of script that actors can get their chops into and have some fun developing their characters.
Ignore the doomsday reviews, this isn't a move that deserves snide judgements of its failures. In fact it doesn't fail at all - it succeeds in pulling off the daunting task of making a comedy spy thriller - and to do that it had to nail all three elements - that takes great writing, cinematography, art direction, acting, and directing - a full house.
The trailers makes it crystal clear that Argylle is about fun and confusion and entertainment - and it delivers these with style and gusto creating a classic pastiche of the spy thriller format in the process. But not a cheap knock off version, a high quality romp with all the bells and whistles - and it is this that succeeds in really elevating the movie, and making it, dare I say it, thrilling and fun - which is exactly what it set out to do.
Then there is the matter of the cast - and no one could doubt that they are having an absolute blast. Some refreshing casting choices also, especially the leads, who really nailed it - but real depth in the ensemble.
Argylle is probably a solid 8.5, but I'm rounding up to 9 to counteract the doom and gloom reviewers in their dark judgemental basements - it must be so hard trying to concentrate on gaming and negativity while mom's got the washing on.
It actually manages the delicate balance of being a spy movie thriller whilst completely taking the proverbial out of the genre with action scenes to rival any of the best spy thrillers.
To top that off, it has some great twists and turns in a very accomplished script - the kind of script that is indispensable to making ANY kind of a good movie in any genre - the kind of script that actors can get their chops into and have some fun developing their characters.
Ignore the doomsday reviews, this isn't a move that deserves snide judgements of its failures. In fact it doesn't fail at all - it succeeds in pulling off the daunting task of making a comedy spy thriller - and to do that it had to nail all three elements - that takes great writing, cinematography, art direction, acting, and directing - a full house.
The trailers makes it crystal clear that Argylle is about fun and confusion and entertainment - and it delivers these with style and gusto creating a classic pastiche of the spy thriller format in the process. But not a cheap knock off version, a high quality romp with all the bells and whistles - and it is this that succeeds in really elevating the movie, and making it, dare I say it, thrilling and fun - which is exactly what it set out to do.
Then there is the matter of the cast - and no one could doubt that they are having an absolute blast. Some refreshing casting choices also, especially the leads, who really nailed it - but real depth in the ensemble.
Argylle is probably a solid 8.5, but I'm rounding up to 9 to counteract the doom and gloom reviewers in their dark judgemental basements - it must be so hard trying to concentrate on gaming and negativity while mom's got the washing on.