Russian Doll Review: 8 Ups & 2 Downs
Ups...
8. Natasha Lyonne & Charlie Barnett's Brilliant Performances
Natasha Lyonne's career received a welcome revival thanks to her role on Orange Is the New Black, and she's followed that up wonderfully with her fantastic lead performance here.
Lyonne has a knack for playing no-bulls*** characters with vulnerability buried deep beneath the surface, and so the role of Nadia is perfectly suited to her (just as well, as she also co-created the show, wrote several episodes and directed the finale).
She manages a perfect balance of vulgar hilarity and heart, complimented by the performance of co-star Charlie Barnett as Alan who, without spoiling anything, quickly gets caught up in Nadia's time loop escapade.
Their chemistry is remarkable and the show sensibly avoids most of the cliches you'd expect from a dynamic like this. Without their fine work, it wouldn't be anywhere near as heartfelt.