Faina Ranevskaya conquered the entire Soviet Union. She was a scandalmonger and a hooligan, but at the same time she had sparkling humor and a unique philosophy of life. Her quotes still stir the mind with their accuracy. And now a series about her h...

On February 8, the debut episodes of the series “Ranevskaya” were released on KION. As is obvious from the title, it tells the story of the life of the outstanding VK jokester 20th-century actress Faina Ranevskaya. Right from the start, it’s clear what the project is and who will enjoy it, so let’s get down to business.

“Ranevskaya” as a classic biopic

The plot begins in 1915 in Taganrog, where young Faina (hidden under a ton of makeup is (Marietta Tsigal-Polishchuk)) dreams of acting in the theater instead of marrying a future doctor and becoming a diligent member of high society, as the standards of the time dictate.

This conflict, quite classic for biographical projects, becomes the foundation of the narrative’s beginning and sets the overall direction of the story. Scenes of quarrels with parents, glorification of creativity, and attempts to escape fate (and surroundings) are included.

From the very first minutes, you get the feeling that if Ranevskaya herself had seen such a work, she would have laughed at it and made a few caustic remarks. Banality upon banality is clearly not what an artist of such caliber and aesthetic sense deserves.

It’s clear that the project exploits the well-worn paths of biopics, where a “not like everyone else” heroine will overcome obstacle after obstacle on the path to nationwide love. But why watch this when the Wikipedia page is brighter and more filled with unexpected facts, and Ranevskaya’s famous quotes say more about her as a person than empty dialogues about fate?

“Ranevskaya” as a product of the streaming era

What sets series released on online platforms apart from those on federal TV channels is their freshness of approach, boldness in visual means, and compliance with the demands of viewers accustomed to high-quality content. None of the above is present in the series “Ranevskaya.”

It is a product of television-level quality through and through. There is a theatrical approach to acting (endless eye-rolling and a shoddy imitation of Jewish speech can drive you crazy within the first 20 minutes of the series), a deliberately soapy picture, perhaps intended to add historicity or perhaps needed to hide not-so-successful makeup, and the aforementioned predictability, because consumers of such products primarily value a sense of the familiar, and therefore something so close and understandable.

Is that bad? Not at all. It’s just that the creators, led by producer Konstantin Ernst, are making it clear that their target audience is fans of “soap,” viewers aged 60+, who are less demanding of scale and quality and more interested in immersing themselves in the atmosphere of bygone days and recalling already familiar information about a famous person.

Turn on the series “Ranevskaya” for your parents, they’ll love it. And you’d better pay attention to the one neighboring it in the KION catalog. At least there’s intrigue and Kirill Kyaro with Daniil Strakhov.

Roman Kovalev

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