Common Sense Media Review
By Melissa Camacho
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Fascinating, hopeful book adaption has drinking, violence.
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Why Age 14+?
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A Gentleman in Moscow
What's the Story?
Based on Amor Towles' 2016 fictional novel of the same name, A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW stars Ewan McGregor as Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, a former Russian nobleman who has been sentenced to life imprisonment in a grand hotel. In 1918, after spending four years in Paris, Count Rostov returns to Russia despite the fact that the Bolshevik Revolution has begun. By 1922 he is forced to answer to a Bolshevik committee for a 1913 poem criticizing the upper class that is attributed to him, and for his inexplicable return from Paris. Smart and witty, Rostov refuses to give a clear answer, resulting in him being deemed an "unrepentant aristocrat." Stripped of his privilege, he is handed down a life sentence of house arrest inside the Metropolitan Hotel, which is located across the street from the Kremlin. Forced to sleep in a bleak room in the attic and unable step outside of the hotel without being killed, he spends decades inside the hotel's walls remaining hopeful and trying to live a full life while Russia undergoes major upheavals on the outside. However, it is the people he meets over the years that eventually transform him.
Is It Any Good?
This miniseries is a well-produced and entertaining adaptation of Amor Towle's novel. Despite being a work of fiction, the tale is believable thanks to the incorporation of historical details into the story. Meanwhile, the small-screen interpretation of Count Rostov, while not as obviously complex as in the book, is well-rounded and engaging. This allows the relationships he forges with people in the hotel, like young guest Nina Kulikova (Alexa Goodall), poet and his late sister's lover Mikhail "Mishka" Fyodorovich Mindich (Fehinti Balogun), actress Anna Urbanova (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and, later, the talented Sophia (played by Beau Gadsdon), to evolve in ways that feel truthful and that allow viewers to see how each contributes to Rostov's inner transformation. Even his evolving relationship with secret police officer Osip Ivanovich Glebnikov (played by Johnny Harris) is engaging. Granted, despite the fact that A Gentleman in Moscow doesn't focus specifically on politics, some viewers may consider it to be an anti-communist tale. But this doesn't take away from the fact that it is a worthy retelling of a story about a man whose life of constraint leads him to an emotional awakening that he never expected to have.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the Bolshevik (aka Russian) Revolution. Was this a good thing? How did it transform Russia?
What are the lessons being taught in A Gentleman in Moscow? How long does it take Count Rostov to learn them? Does he change as a result?
TV Details
- Premiere date : March 31, 2024
- Cast : Ewan McGregor , Alexa Goodall , Johnny Harris
- Network : Showtime
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : History
- Character Strengths : Compassion , Courage , Empathy , Integrity
- TV rating :
- Award : Golden Globe - Golden Globe Award Nominee
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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