#poor joe and sofia are arguably the most interesting characters and they have to share a spot while i think about the sad spaghetti man

[ya-boiiiii]

The differences between character appearances in Madame Goncharov (1971) and Goncharov (1973).

So, I'm a huge fan of both and love to compare and contrast so behold the second of hopefully many Goncharov analysis posts to come!

The timelines of the book and movie aren't set in stone but based on certain lines in the book such as "Plus de dix ans de loyauté et c’est ce que tu me fais?" I'm going to assume the story takes place in between ten to twenty years and as a result will also be covering how accurately to the book the characters aged.

Goncharov

Played by Robert de Niro, Goncharov is shockingly the least accurate to the books!

Described as "semblable à un loup", Goncharov is consistently mentioned with distinctively sharp wolf-like features, something that - while De Niro doesn't necessarily lack - does not have in abundance.

Another detail that gets left out is that (book) Goncharov is quite tall - over 6', being only rivalled by Ice Pick Joe in the main cast. De Niro on the other hand was 5'9 at the time of filming.

I stand by the casting of De Niro nevertheless, as Goncharov's most touched upon quality - his youthfulness - was the one thing that De Niro had in spades. Roughly 40 at the beginning of the story, Goncharov is described as looking nearly a decade his junior, this trait continues throughout with the only sign of Goncharov's advancing age being a few grey hairs (something included in the film).

Mario Ambrosini

Following the least accurate appearance we have the most (with only one major exception) with Al Pacino as Mario Ambrosini!

Al Pacino has every single feature mentioned in the book, the only difference being that Mario is described as unattractive while Pacino is most certainly not. Pacino is also slightly taller than Mario who is constantly mocked for being "petit" and "à peine la hauteur des épaules".

However, while this is not about the casting, I feel it's important to mention that Mario during the later stages of the movie looks nothing like his book counterpart.

While Goncharov barely ages, Mario is the opposite. Though the movie definitely showcases the depths of just how tired and depressed he is, it would have been impossible to portray an older Mario without the filming taking forever or casting another actor for the second half.

Mario is said to have gained a substantial amount of weight due to overeating thanks to the stress of working as Goncharov's consigliere, as well as having grown out his hair. He's also described as looking in his mid-fifties which Al Pacino was definitely not.

I'm honestly thankful they didn't use prosthetics or cast another actor though, because despite this one nitpick, Mario honestly felt like he was wrenched straight out of the book and I think only Al Pacino could have pulled him off.

Katya Goncharova

Portrayed by Cybil Shepherd, Katya is fairly accurate to the books with a few key differences.

In the books, Katya is not a real blonde and stops dyeing her roots in later chapters as her dark "true colours" begin to shine. In the movie she stays fully blonde throughout and there is no allusion made to Katya dyeing her hair at all.

Katya also has much softer features in the film than the book, having been described as the fox to her husband's wolf. She is mentioned to have a very pointy chin and triangular nose as opposed to Shepherd's more rounded features.

Like Goncharov, Katya is said to have not really aged all that much save for her eyes. I think a little makeup to accentuate her eyebags could have gone a long way, as she looks the same at the end of the movie as she did in the beginning.

Her performance more than makes up for all this though, so 10/10 in my book regardless.

Andrey (Andrei) Daddano

I know some people have mixed feelings on Harvey Keitel as Andrey (spelt Andrei in the books) but I think, in terms of appearance, the casting was pretty accurate.

In the beginning, Andrei is said to look more like Katya's brother than Valery - their similarities being a constant point of comparison (Goncharov has a type). He's described as having a "visage de renard" but I think Harvey Keitel fits this description very well.

He's mentioned to have dirty copper hair (something Keitel lacks), and is the most "pâle" of the ensemble in terms of skin. He is also supposed to have a punchable face according to Goncharov himself and I do not want to punch Keitel so there is that as well.

In terms of aging, I think the eye patch, facial hair and streaks of grey caused Keitel to age accurately to the books, however he is mentioned in certain passages to have lost quite a bit of weight (Cassius parallels what up), but I don't think it would have been ethical to force Keitel to do the same.

Joe Morelli and Sofia Ambrosini

We're doing a two for one here for Sofia (played by Sophia Loren) and Joe (played by the late, great John Cazale).

The differences for these two are pretty inconsequential, Sofia is said to have a longer face and rounder eyes (resembling Mario) whereas Joe is supposed to be 6'4 and "jaunâtre". However this is bordering nitpicky and I can't think of anyone more suited to playing these two.

An interesting detail I want to point out is that it seems Loren was cast based on her resemblance to an older Sofia as opposed to everyone else (sans Ice Pick Joe, my man died before everything went to shit).

But yeah, these two were very good choices and I do not have much else to say. Thank you for bearing with me and I will be back with another essay soon.