Writer: Ivan I Tverdovskiy (Screenplay)
Starring: Masha Tokareva, Natalya Pavlenkova, Aleksandr Grochilin, Olga Ergina, Dmitriy Groshev, Irina Chipizhenko
Plot: Middle-aged zoo worker Natasha still lives with her mother in a small coastal town. She is stuck and it seems that life has no surprises for her until one day – she grows a tail and turns her life around
Runtime: 1 Hour 31 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Nice Comedy Drama
Story: Zoology starts as we meet middle-aged Natasha (Pavlenkova) who works in the local zoo as an office worker and her life is turned upside down when she grows a tail. Already considered some what of an outsider her Mother (Chipizhenko) tries to help her, while the rest of the town sees her as a laugh stock.
While looking to find a way to have the tail removed she meets x-ray doctor Peter (Groshev) a man that doesn’t judge her in anyway and the two strike up a relationship giving her a new meaning in life.
Thoughts on Zoology
Characters – Natasha is the middle-aged woman that lives an ordinary life, she is an office worker at the zoo and gets bullied by her co-workers, one day she grows a tail which makes her the talk of the town, as she starts to date a doctor and learns to accept her imperfections. Peter is the doctor who never once judged Natasha for being different, he becomes the love interest and helps her come out of her shell. Natasha’s mother has always been keeping her in control and isn’t happy with the new freedom she is showing.
Performances – The performances in the film are good throughout, Natalya Pavelenkova is clearly the star of the show giving us a performance we feel her pain and happiness through.
Story – The story follows an outsider that starts to come out of her shell once she learns she has a tail and falls in love with a doctor. We get to see how the small town life can be cruel on the people that are different, but also learn that you need to accept being different to stand out in the right way.
Comedy – The comedy in this film comes from the drama being told, we keep everything low key and you won’t be laughing out loud, just seeing the drama as light hearted.
Settings – The film gives us a small town setting, this shows us just how the community reacts to the new body part Natasha gets and shows how being the outsider can be difficult.
Scene of the Movie – Zoo talk.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It doesn’t play into the comedy enough to be a real comedy.
Final Thoughts – This is a nice drama showing us how difficult life can be in a small community if you start looking different.
Overall: Smart character study of small communities.
Rating