This review is written after having watched the mini-series for the 2nd time, that being the first time watching it in English (bits of French, Russian etc notwithstanding).
"War&Peace (2016)" is not a particularly faithful adaptation of the Russian classic - if it was, the six hours the mini-series lasts would just about fit one internal monologue and one author's monologue, 5 sentences altogether. Instead, "W&P (2016)" concentrates on fitting as many plot beats as it can into the runtime, occasionally allowing the viewer to catch his breath with an emotional (or "sappy", for our cynical friends) scene. The philosophical musings are mercifully abandoned 95% of the time. The spirit of the time is not particularly present (the dresses; the kissing; people being very forward; not every word used being French), nor is the Russian spirit: most proper nouns are mangled; Natasha and Nikolay's singing in """"Russian"""" hurts me on every level (although Dolohov's singing "Stonet sizyy golubochek" by I. Dmitriyev in purest Russian is awesome and almost makes up for it, a moment of linguistic, tonal, cultural and historical propriety); and in a particularly lowly moment the authors reimagine the Russian folk as Gypsies.
On my first watch I thought Paul Dano (playing Pierre) was a genius who totally got the character - on second watch it feels as if everybody, Pierre included, is playing an ever-so-slightly cartoonish version of what the character is supposed to be (Hélène is the exception, as she's pretty much the exact opposite of what her character is supposed to be, although a much better role for it). It's the fault of the too-rapid pacing, of course. But still, if I had to highlight a character now, I'd choose Mar'ya - she gets to demonstrate a good bit of range and is fittingly plain-looking yet sympathetic. The actress playing her, Jessie Buckley, I have seen in a couple of other things between the watch-throughs of "W&P (2016)", and she's legitimately very good.
"W&P (2016)" suffers from technical issues across the board. Scenes are spliced together quite haphazardly. Battle scenes before Borodino have some truly WTF moments (You ever get suddenly stabbed in the side by a guy running at you with a bayonet across an open field, past your own - admittedly disorderly - soldiers, a hundred meters from your army's commander? You ever then get blood on your forehead in the next scene, having had fallen down on your back?). Dance scenes show the dancers' legs suspiciously rarely. Still, all actors do manage to deliver captivating, emotional performances when called upon, and the cinematography is rich whether out in the endless expanse of the Russian outdoors, in lavish palaces of the bluebloods, or in dimly-lit country houses. The music is pretty cool, heavily based around Orthodox church choir - it highlights moments appropriately, although at times it gets a tad repetitive. As a substitute to reading the book, "W&P (2016)" won't give you knowledge of Tolstoy's philosophy or view of history (so it's already a blessed relief), but the plot mostly checks out, and will help you write an essay or two if necessary, even if mentioning anything about Hélène might dock you points for factual errors.
"War&Peace (2016)" is not a particularly faithful adaptation of the Russian classic - if it was, the six hours the mini-series lasts would just about fit one internal monologue and one author's monologue, 5 sentences altogether. Instead, "W&P (2016)" concentrates on fitting as many plot beats as it can into the runtime, occasionally allowing the viewer to catch his breath with an emotional (or "sappy", for our cynical friends) scene. The philosophical musings are mercifully abandoned 95% of the time. The spirit of the time is not particularly present (the dresses; the kissing; people being very forward; not every word used being French), nor is the Russian spirit: most proper nouns are mangled; Natasha and Nikolay's singing in """"Russian"""" hurts me on every level (although Dolohov's singing "Stonet sizyy golubochek" by I. Dmitriyev in purest Russian is awesome and almost makes up for it, a moment of linguistic, tonal, cultural and historical propriety); and in a particularly lowly moment the authors reimagine the Russian folk as Gypsies.
On my first watch I thought Paul Dano (playing Pierre) was a genius who totally got the character - on second watch it feels as if everybody, Pierre included, is playing an ever-so-slightly cartoonish version of what the character is supposed to be (Hélène is the exception, as she's pretty much the exact opposite of what her character is supposed to be, although a much better role for it). It's the fault of the too-rapid pacing, of course. But still, if I had to highlight a character now, I'd choose Mar'ya - she gets to demonstrate a good bit of range and is fittingly plain-looking yet sympathetic. The actress playing her, Jessie Buckley, I have seen in a couple of other things between the watch-throughs of "W&P (2016)", and she's legitimately very good.
"W&P (2016)" suffers from technical issues across the board. Scenes are spliced together quite haphazardly. Battle scenes before Borodino have some truly WTF moments (You ever get suddenly stabbed in the side by a guy running at you with a bayonet across an open field, past your own - admittedly disorderly - soldiers, a hundred meters from your army's commander? You ever then get blood on your forehead in the next scene, having had fallen down on your back?). Dance scenes show the dancers' legs suspiciously rarely. Still, all actors do manage to deliver captivating, emotional performances when called upon, and the cinematography is rich whether out in the endless expanse of the Russian outdoors, in lavish palaces of the bluebloods, or in dimly-lit country houses. The music is pretty cool, heavily based around Orthodox church choir - it highlights moments appropriately, although at times it gets a tad repetitive. As a substitute to reading the book, "W&P (2016)" won't give you knowledge of Tolstoy's philosophy or view of history (so it's already a blessed relief), but the plot mostly checks out, and will help you write an essay or two if necessary, even if mentioning anything about Hélène might dock you points for factual errors.