I watched the beginning of our series “Crime and Punishment.” Raskolnikov bicycle courier, I have no words

Kinopoisk hosted the release of the long-awaited series “Crime and Change,” an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky.

Here a gigantic bet is being made precisely in the direction of gradual development than at the end of last year. Initially, the project was supposed to be launched at the end of October, but its launch was postponed several times for unknown reasons. According to rumors, the release was urgently moved due to unusual premiere shows.

Today Kinopoisk showed the first 4 episodes out of 10. The rest should appear in the online cinema only on November 30.

We have already watched the first episodes, we are ready to share our impressions and “love the hate” addressed to us. The expectation completely did not coincide with reality.

Brief description

• New reading, or how to ruin everything
  Mysticism is here It turned out to be no offense
  The pawnbroker has the ax, but it should have flown to the cameraman and editor
  It’s just trash and it’s sad

New reading, or how to ruin everything

What is the series about?: A poor and proud student has a crazy idea. A new reading of the great novel.

Summer. Petersburg of the 21st century. Student Rodion
Raskolnikov is exhausted by lack of money and unemployment and notices the meaninglessness of his existence. But in its implementation, a plan is maturing.

Filming modern classics is already the norm for cinema. We warned about this provision in advance, so that the spectators were ready for the place immediately. And… why not? This approach may be simpler and easier to understand for a modern observer.

Only this side of the decision from Kinopoisk no longer looks like a new reading, but trying everything is not cheap. The economic effect of the 19th century is much more expensive than filming a location in St. Petersburg in the 21st century. There is no need to invest so much in costumes, appropriate makeup and scenery.

We understand if this were somehow really played out, but the directors seem to have decided and are not interested in this issue. But there is something that greatly spoils the impression – the manner of communication.

The authors of the series took the path of mixing: they are the civilizations of Dostoevsky and the modern world. The novelty is literally replete with various quotes from original and literary, theatrical speech. And how pretentious it looks against the backdrop of a Solaris passing by or standing on the streets electric scooters. And in one of the episodes, Raskolnikov actually turns into a bicycle courier with a delivery bag corresponding to him.

The audience is presented with a picture of a theatrical production, where each actor deliberately overacts a little and communicates in the spirit of a long-gone era, but against the backdrop of their modernity. Clean, sterile and not at all oppressive.

You look at this storm of emotions and don’t understand what’s happening on the screen.

It seems that they also forgot to reveal the characters, and they decided to completely rewrite the characters of legitimate persons. The same Raskolnikov, performed by Ivan Yankovsky, turned out to be a freak from “Swamps”, but not a poor student who is trying to understand the lines between good and evil. He doesn’t indulge in philosophy, but simply behaves like a hysterical woman with eternal paranoia and mental health problems. In other words, we see the spitting image of a schizophrenic.

Other distant images look especially cartoonish. Special Marfa Petrovna, observing people with just one glance. At the same time, the actress herself does not make a strong impression.

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Mysticism is here It turned out to be no offense

The second major problematic game turned out to be that Mirzoev is trying to delve into the mysticism around the events taking place. Something strange and magical happens to literally all the characters.

The main engine in the demonic behavior happening on the screen is the Shadow (Devil), who was simply superbly played by Boris Khvoshnyansky. He literally captures attention from the first minutes with his endless charisma, and each of his appearances brings sweetness to what is happening. It’s only a shame that only he was able to grab attention.

One way or another, such a solution seems unnecessary. This is not a work that needs to flirt with otherworldly developments.

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The pawnbroker has the ax, but it should have flown to the cameraman and editor

But even in spite of things, one could soften in assessment, and even close one’s eyes to something, realizing that this is a very strong-willed retelling with one’s own vision.

Cameraman Matvey Stavitsky often catches bad shots at low resolution, where you simply can’t see faces. Not like everything else. The passing of the camera raises questions, because from time to time it begins to move chaotically, and you simply get lost in the frame. Why was it necessary to shoot many scenes with your own hands, without maintaining the budget with a normal staff?

Assembly gluing is just annoying. Especially in the first episode, where everything seems crazy arthouse. Only Vladimir Mirzoev is not Lars Von Trier, and the eternal lack of understanding of what is happening only repels. It’s as if the director decided to “persevere” so much that he himself lost the thread that he tried to lay out throughout the entire running time. It seems that none of the characters understand what the **** is happening here anymore.

In the following episodes, the situation gets better, the narrative becomes more straightforward. However, no one refused symbolic insertions, and they simply call misunderstanding and awkwardness. Just one scene with a naked Yankovsky at the table is worth it, everyone has already discussed it…

It’s very interesting to watch the director’s cut without the cut scenes. Perhaps she could clear things up. In the meantime, there are only questions without answers.

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It’s just trash and it’s sad

Crime and Consequences was not a new take on the iconic novel. This is a very loose interpretation with bad scenery, good actors who themselves do not fully understand what they are playing, weak sound and many controversial directorial decisions.

In just one day, the new film collected 5.6 points on Kinopoisk out of 10. It is simply not suitable for the modern viewer. Arthouse fans are also unlikely to like what is happening. So who is the target audience for this game? Another unanswered question.