I'm just re-watching The Lost Prince and the inaccurate portrayals of the Romanovs are really grating on me!
Well they were only in the film for, what, two scenes? I thought the casting was pretty exceptional. Strong likeness to each of the actual characters.
For instance, how they are all speaking Russian amongst themselves, if I remember correctly, they spoke English to each other because it was the only language they had in common - they wrote all of their letters in English as well and I even remember reading that the younger Grand Duchesses disliked learning Russian because it was difficult, etc.
I think they were just underlining the fact that they were in fact Russian. Having actresses who portray OTMA speaking English and with the British accent may have confused moviegoers who were already following actual British characters. A sort of "but aren't they supposed to be Russian?" Again we are talking very little screen time here.
Also how Alexei is walking along hand in hand with Olga, I can't really imagine happening, plus how Anastasia appears to be about a decade older than Alexei.
lol, well perhaps a decade is a little extreme. But, yes, the sisters appeared older than they actually were. I believed the year being portrayed was 1910. So roughly each would have been; Olga 14 1/2, Tatiana 13, Marie 11, Anastasia 9, Alexei 5 1/2 to 6, Prince John 5.
And don't get me started on the portrayal of the Tsarina with her Russian accent, just by reading the discussion about her character in this thread alone, I think there is a general agreement that she would never have made such a scene as that with the inappropriate shoes etc.
Probably not. It was certainly a case of the filmmakers picking on the Empress and making an exaggeration out of her regular, at times petulant, behavior.
As inaccurate as their portrayal was, (you'd have thought that researchers might have put some effort into the ages if not the smaller details) on the other hand, The Lost Prince opened my eyes to the personalities of George V and Queen Mary, their glacial sort of coldness and obsession with order.
Personally I enjoyed the portrayal of their visit to England however brief and somewhat inaccurate it was. The girls were beautiful much like the real OTMA and the actresses conveyed a warmth that we commonly associate with the real life characters.
Also you must have been struct by the death scene, yes? It certainly gets
me every time. The flashbacks, the way George V receives the news and his reaction, the family being led down to the basement, the Queen's reaction, etc. This has to have redeemed any minor flaws from earlier in the film, don't you think?
Very moving. Here's a refresher:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_DdRCe_iIs
