‘ The Romanoffs’ not on the level of Weiner’s ‘Men’
Lineage and how it informs the way we see ourselves is a recurring theme in “The Romanoffs,” a new anthology drama on the streaming service Amazon Prime.
The eight-part series, which premiered Friday with two episodes, consists of separate stories centering on people who believe they are descendants of the Romanov family — the last dynasty to rule Russia before the czar and his family were executed in 1918 by Bolshevik troops.
The lore surrounding possible survivors and their descendants endures. The show employs a new cast for each episode, dramatizing the obsession with the Romanovs’ bloody demise in a globe-hopping series of 80-minute stories shot on three continents.
The show marks the first major TV series from “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner since ad man Don Draper went out with that indelible Coke jingle in 2015. The multiple Emmy winner produces, writes and directs here, pulling in talent from the hit AMC series, including Christina Hendricks and John Slattery.
The first three episodes made available for review are set in the present and eloquently written; they feature strong performances from an ensemble cast.
But with its far-flung narratives that lack tonal consistency from one episode to the next, the series asks a lot of viewers.
The premiere episode, “The Violet Hour,” is set in Paris. It tells a deeply moving story steeped in the realities of aging and the changing demographics of Europe.
Anushka (Marthe Keller) is a widow who lives alone in a huge, stately flat passed down from generation to generation. She believes herself to be a descendant of the Russian royal family but identifies as a true Parisian. Haughty, she harbors disdain for immigrants infiltrating her beautiful city, yet they are the ones who tend to her.
If only the anthology’s second episode (“The Royal Us”) were as gracefully executed as “The Violet Hour.”
Set in America, Episode 2 opens in couples therapy with Michael (Corey Stoll) and Shelly (Kerry Bishe) trying to mend a marriage that’s beyond the point of no return. The rest of the episode is spent on the not-very-interesting narrative about the mediocre Michael, the Romanov descendant here, hoping to land a hot woman he meets during jury duty. His pursuit of her is slow, tedious, even creepy.
The time would have been better spent focusing on Shelly, who goes alone on the couple’s planned cruise vacation, during which a Romanov society event takes place.
The pace picks up again in Episode 3, “House of Special Purpose,” which plays out in Austria.
Actress Olivia (a wonderful Hendricks) has just arrived from the United States to star in a TV series about the Romanovs, but she finds that the director (Isabelle Huppert) has gone insane trying to retell the story because she, too, claims to be a descendant of the slain royals.
A hostile film crew and several eerie events have Olivia on edge and the production hanging on by a thread.
As a drama, “The Romanoffs” — based on early episodes — is a mixed bag. But as commentary on the current obsession with genealogy, it’s worth watching.