Why Nikita Mikhalkov agreed to play a caricature

Talking about his role and the film as a whole, Nikita Sergeevich compared it with a “cleansing enema”, which is needed to remove the touch of everyday life and involuntarily emerging stamping that haunts many artists. In addition, the picture is a comedy, albeit a black one, and as you know, humor can have an excellent therapeutic effect.

Mikhalkov compared his character “Mikhalych” with the conductor-Andrey from the movie “Station for Two”. In “Zhmurki” the viewer sees the same Andrei, though in a later version.

By the way, Aleksey Balabanov conceived the hero of “Mikhalich” a little different, and everything that we see on the screen is, by and large, Mikhalkov’s improvisation. It was he who insisted that the hero turn out to be domineering, madly in love with his son and with a classic bang.

Balabanov offered to play him seriously, wanting to turn a caricature crime boss in a crimson jacket into a stern mafioso in a leather coat who would not disdain to shed other people’s blood on his own.

But Nikita Sergeevich said that it was simply impossible to play such a character seriously. And if you get rid of the caricature, it will be boring. As a result, Mikhalkov began to look for an image, playing on the verge of an acceptable farce. And found!

His hero is completely different from the hackneyed characters, as in endless serials about cops. He was able to mold something unusual – a kind of idiot who is both cruel and weak towards his son. At the same time, he is afraid of his wife, who has never appeared in the frame, but exists like a separate character.

There were enough significant serious roles in Mikhalkov’s career, and Mikhalych is pure banter. After the phrase “Mother will scold,” Nikita Sergeevich realized that now he can do everything. Here he is, in fact, “having fun.”

Mikhalkov has always been a controversial figure, so many were wondering how he worked with Balabanov? Indeed, initially the film crew was on their nerves, not knowing how to work with Mikhalkov. But in the course of the filming process, Nikita Sergeevich turned out to be practically the only actor with whom there were no problems.

Mikhalkov worked well not only with the film crew, but also specifically with Balabanov. He considered Alexei a deep, paradoxical and truly Russian person. He showed him respect for the fact that after the sensational “Brother” he was able to calmly get away from this genre and even turn it into irony on himself. Only an artist of the highest level is capable of such a thing.

Well, in conclusion, I would like to add the words of Nikita Sergeevich himself: – “There was an opportunity to laugh together, and I agreed to play Mikhalych. In serious tones, everyone has seen this for a long time. ”