This BAFTA- nominated series may have flown under your radar last year but critics hailed this forgotten period drama starring Ewan McGregor as “sublime”.
Amor Towles’ A Gentleman In Moscow came out in 2016, the author had previously had a career in investment banking before writing his breakout novel Rules In Civility. In 2024, A Gentleman In Moscow received excellent critical reception but fell short of becoming a sensation.
The eight part stand-alone series was mainly filmed in Bolton, Manchester, and Yorkshire. Victoria Square outside Bolton Town Hall makes a cameo as well as Space Studios in Manchester.
McGregor delivers what Robert W. Butler describes as a “career-high performance”, as per Rotten Tomatoes, where the series has an almost-perfect 92% critical rating.
The Star Wars legend plays Count Alexander Rostov who is stripped of his title and material wealth and placed under house arrest for life in a decadent Moscow hotel.
What plays out is a charming tale of friendships, romance and connection – helping the disgraced count re-connect with himself and re-discover his purpose and place in the world.
Hugo Rifkind said it’s the encounters that McGregor’s character experiences that makes the series so special.
He said: “Don’t imagine, though, that what you’re getting here is merely a Soviet-era version of Tom Hanks in The Terminal. It’s the relationships that make this slow, confident drama so sublime.”
Wenlei Ma added: “It’s a series that glides down easily as it invites you to be part of its world, to stand still for a small moment before everything changes, again.”
Alison Herman was less impressed saying: “The series is part of an all-too-common trend: a limited series built around a star performance that’s engaging, but not enough to stretch a movie-sized idea into a TV-sized narrative.”
But fans sang the series praises. One said: “I absolutely loved everything about this show, and I’m a person who likes almost nothing that’s out currently. The story, the acting, the filling – just A+ all the way around! What a triumph for everything to come together this well. Absolutely loved this show.”
However, another took umbrage with the TV shows’ inaccuracies. One said: “If you don’t mind throwing history, facts and any semblance of a realistic story line this series really works.
“Once again the ‘Hollywood machine’ got a hold of a good novel and configured it into a mess, to then turn it into a drama series for the masses. Let’s shoot for the lowest common denominator and we’ll get the numbers kind of thing. Stopped watching.”
The series also starring Johnny Harris and Leah Harvey is available to stream on Amazon Prime, Paramount+ and YouTube.