Boyarskaya in the image of the Empress impressed fans: “Good, but not her role”

The role of Catherine II becomes something of a challenge banner for our stars. Playing an empress is probably not easy also because this role is guaranteed to cause a barrage of criticism and not the most polite comparisons. After the premiere of the series “Great. Golden Age” Liza Boyarskaya joined the imperial club.

Fans of historical projects, of course, remember that in 2015 there was a series on air called “The Great,” which dealt with the youth of the future empress and the first trials that befell her. Ekaterina was played by Yulia Snigir in that project, and audience reviews for her role were very different – from complete rejection to warm sympathy.

Nine years later, the series returns with essentially the same name, but with new faces. Probably, for those who watched the first “Great”, such changes look rather strange. The average viewer hardly understands what “the producers decided to restart the project with other actors” means, and does not see any logic in such changes. However, the industry does not always live by logic, and sometimes producers have a strange idea about the interests of the public. But they changed it so they changed it, the main thing is that it doesn’t hurt.

The events of the series “Great. The Golden Age” develops a year after Catherine’s coronation. The war with Turkey, European intrigues, smallpox and plague epidemics, the “Pugachev rebellion” – all this, along with intra-palace games, befalls the young empress, and every test turns her into the very Catherine with whom the golden age in the history of Russia is associated.

The director’s chair went to Sergei Ginzburg, who is very experienced, including in terms of historical projects, and under his leadership a bright and large-scale film was produced. A large TV comes in handy here. Tsarskoe Selo, Peterhof, Gatchina and other historical locations are presented in all their glory, the decoration of plague-ridden Moscow is very impressive, Catherine’s numerous dresses sparkle with luxury, like a copy of the museum’s Orlov diamond. In general, for those who value the picture above all, the series will bring a lot of positive emotions.

But there are also those who listen carefully and like to find fault. Such an audience also has great scope for eloquence. Elizaveta Boyarskaya has repeatedly played in historical productions: fans remember the actress from Anna Karenina, as well as from performances in various theaters, where stage versions of the classics were and are still ongoing. But if Anna Karenina’s dresses and hats looked very good on Elizabeth, then the imperial armor seemed to want to eat her.

In almost every scene where Boyarskaya’s heroine wears monumental outfits and wigs, the actress looks like a very modern girl, who for some reason was dressed up in such a paradoxical way. Yulia Snigir and Marina Alexandrova generally proved that the imperial personage can be played by young people with high cheekbones and wasp-shaped waists. Boyarskaya’s performance has a lot of energy, and the actress confirms from the very first episodes that she received her awards not in vain. But when viewers in their comments give arguments like “good, but not her role,” logic creeps into such a voice of the people.

The problem here, most likely, is not with Elizaveta Boyarskaya or Anton Khabarov, who played Count Orlov, into whose image the swindler-seducer from “Casanova” seemed to “climb”, becoming one of the most successful roles for the actor. There is a suspicion that the royal theme itself is tired. Probably, historical subjects from which melodrama can be squeezed are perceived as win-win, and Catherine II with her favorites is certainly a promising character.

Nevertheless, the audience was clearly overloaded with the famous empress. The main intrigue of such projects is the anticipation of who will be dressed up this time as Catherine, Orlov, Potemkin, Naryshkin and other characters from history textbooks. They change clothes, I must admit, not bad and, perhaps, every time it gets better and better. But they film approximately the same thing, perhaps with varying degrees of dynamics in the plot development.

It’s definitely time to take a break from the image of Catherine II. As well as from TV series, where feigned melodrama is served under the sauce of obsessive history lessons.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 29216 dated February 14, 2024

Newspaper headline:
Palace bloat