It's not a dumb movie, it's an elevated epic, tries to be smart, looks terrific, is well acted.
But Nicholas and Alexandra were idiots - suited for being amiable powerless monarchs not actual rulers, like Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. They could have brought democracy to Russia or at least saved their monarchy and avoided civil war, kept the country out of World War One. But they blundered on. So the film is a drag.
They're not active or compelling they're just dumb and useless. No exotic sex or action.
Tom Baker livens things up a little as Rasputin - Peter O'Toole, Sam Spiegel's choice, would've been better. All the solid British actors get wearying after a while - everyone's good but they're so dull. It feels like a BBC mini series. I kept wishing for some miscast American pop star to keep things lively.
There's no personal connection. James Goldman made the royals come alive in Lion in Winter but that was an interesting family. This has some family stuff but they are weighed under by all the characters. I couldn't tell the difference between the four sisters. Alexi has some character but he's a horrible brat - when he tells off his dad towards the end it's like "shut up kid you got us into this mess".
Dr Zhivago had a relatable core - Omar Sharif torn between Julie Christie and Geraldine Chaplin.Lawrence of Arabia was about Lawrence and his relationships with Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn. Ben Hur was Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd/Jack Hawkins/Haya Harareet.
What's the core here? Kind of Nicholas and Alexandra and their family... but it keeps crossing to politicians like the Bolshevieks who are simply more interesting. You could've found ways to make the family interesting - differentiate them, give conflict - but they don't.
I liked John McEnery as Kerensky the leader in between Nicholas and Lenin. In part because he was blonde and looked different from the others. I googled the character - he married a Brisbane girl and spent some time here! Brian Cox is terrific as Trotsky. Ditto Michael Bryant as Lenin. But these characters are interesting. They really should've been the focus. Or else really dug into life in the Imperial court. They tried to have it both ways and ended up not nailing anything.
The finale where the family is killed is well done. They build up the suspense with the family waiting in the room - it's a terrific scene, drags out the emotion and gives a sense of what this film needed to be: dig into the little things, ram home the moments.
It feels like it should have done for ten hours.
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