Being a fan of the Fandorin novels, I had high hopes for this film, especially with the casting of Oleg Menshikov as the "mature" Fandorin. Like other viewers, I thought he looked the part, but also like others, I felt he did not project Fandorin's humanity. My conception of Fandorin is that he is not a snob, but rather respectful, often silent and constantly analyzing each situation. I felt the love interest in the film was gratuitous; the woman did not otherwise figure into the plot and their scenes together were simply eye-candy (and not enough of that, since we get to see "more" of her than we do of him).
The supporting cast was stellar---if I have ANY criticism, it's that Nikita Mikhalkov steals every scene he is in (and he is in most of them). I had the feeling that a lot of his dialog and stage direction was improvised. He certainly did make an wonderful villain at the end, though---I loved the scene where he shoots Julie in cold blood, then mutters "Prosti" (as if she could hear him or ever forgive him!) The art direction, cinematography, costume design, lighting and locale choice were all excellent. The story held my attention for two hours, and was only marred somewhat by a weak ending.
Here's hoping Menshikov will do more Fandorin films! This one was head and shoulders above the first two films about Fandorin, which utilized other actors in the title role. I would like to see Yankovsky or Mikhalkov re-shoot "Azazel" or film "The Death of Achilles", since both have superbly drawn villains(esses) and are my favorite books of the series.
The supporting cast was stellar---if I have ANY criticism, it's that Nikita Mikhalkov steals every scene he is in (and he is in most of them). I had the feeling that a lot of his dialog and stage direction was improvised. He certainly did make an wonderful villain at the end, though---I loved the scene where he shoots Julie in cold blood, then mutters "Prosti" (as if she could hear him or ever forgive him!) The art direction, cinematography, costume design, lighting and locale choice were all excellent. The story held my attention for two hours, and was only marred somewhat by a weak ending.
Here's hoping Menshikov will do more Fandorin films! This one was head and shoulders above the first two films about Fandorin, which utilized other actors in the title role. I would like to see Yankovsky or Mikhalkov re-shoot "Azazel" or film "The Death of Achilles", since both have superbly drawn villains(esses) and are my favorite books of the series.