How Many Lives does a Russian Doll Have?

Russian Dolls first appeared in 1890 and are a metaphor for peeling back people’s inner secrets and breaking through their artificial layers. That’ll be important to remember for later. In this comedic but mysterious show released on February 1st, Netflix brings us Russian Doll created, written, and directed by an all female team. Natasha Lyonne stars as Nadia, a young woman living in New York City who happens to be celebrating her 36th birthday at a party her friend, played by Greta Lee, throws for her. Only problem is, she keeps dying at the end of the night and the day resets itself. She finds herself caught in an incessant loop; think Ground Hog Day meets Happy Death Day. Nadia must figure out why this is happening to her, but to make matters worse the more times she dies people disappear and she weakens. And she can’t seem to find her cat. Russian Doll is not a show to sleep on; it’s layered with themes and messages hidden within the 8 episodes. Along with Natasha Lyonne, the shows creator consists of Amy Poehler and Leslye Headland.

We set the scene in a unique bathroom that Nadia keeps going back to after she dies. The song, “Gotta Get Up” by Harry Nilsson plays in the background. Guaranteed to be stuck in your head when you finish binging. She then turns around and is faced with a striking door that has a pistol for a handle and there is a knock on it. Each time she walks through that door she makes a choice of how that day is going to go. Nadia attempts to look at everything that could be possibly making the day reset itself, the building they are in, her friends, the drugs she smoked at the party, anything that could give her a clue to what is happening. And then we meet Alan, played by Charlie Barnett, who seems to be in a predicament quite similar to hers. This is when the story gets a little stranger and a lot more confusing.

Though some scenes are repetitive, it does give a refreshing new take on some of the days as Nadia goes out of her way to try to make things different. The story is compelling and each episode gets more intense and so does the dying. Natasha Lyonne is no stranger to Netflix, this Emmy-nominated actress if famously known for her role, as Nicky in Orange is the New Black. Dasha Polanco from Orange also makes an appearance in four episodes of Russian Doll. Lyonne embodies Nadia perfectly, with her sarcastic and witty tone. Her strong features make it easy to focus on her in the frame and her raspy but booming voice seems to wrap up a lot of scenes with her crude humor. The dialogue is funny but also filled with meaningful messages about life and coming to terms with things we do not want to accept.

The cinematography seems to coincide with the themes of the show. Everything is vibrant and the colors red and blue clearly foreshadow the scenes. Symbolizing good and bad, wrong from right, and making decisions that will impact your life. They have red and blue lights reflecting off in the backgrounds and flashing on Nadia’s face during most scenes. The message they are trying to send in the show is you make certain choices in life that affect other people and if you can’t fix it before it’s too late than you better realize your mistakes. Because most people never get a second chance.

The story line drives the show to some unexpected turns with an ending you’ll probably have to look up to understand. Think about it in this way, some people claim that when they see ghosts (if you believe- or even if you don’t) they seem to be doing the same thing over and over and not realize that other people can see them. They are stuck in a loop because of what people believe to be unresolved business. And while they are stuck, everything around them is still aging, just like in Russian Doll they will show glimpses of rotting food and plants to show that time is still passing, even if you aren’t. After all, who’s to say Nadia isn’t just a ghost?

I give it 8/10 stars.

Why Does It Matter?

This show helps you realize that we have no control over what happens around us but we do have control about the choices that we make. That we also can impact other life’s for either the good or bad but some people only get that one chance to make it count, so make the right decision before the wrong one.

-Brittany Doyle

Sources:

“Russian Doll.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 1 Feb. 2019, www.imdb.com/title/tt7520794/.