Yelena Yampolskaya, Vremya novostei:

Mikhail Saltykov-Schedrin's novel The Golovlyovs is one of the darkest and most ruthless pieces of Russian literature; the name of Porfiry Petrovich, best known as Little Judas (Iudushka) – its main character – has become an institution. Kirill Serebrennikov's solid production that is impregnate with scenic metaphors tells us about the tragedy of a Russian landowner's family falling into decay. This is the story of a doomed place: it seems that destiny is leading the characters to their fall. The Golovlyovs' place swarms with evil: ghosts and deformities are haunting the place not just behind every door, but you can see them through every window; they almost seem to leak through every little crack in the wall. Everything is focused on Iudushka, played by one of the best Russian actors of our time: Yevgeny Mironov. His Iudushka is a bland and ingratiating malefactor, a sort of a "black hole" which sucks and devours everything alive. This image is a parody on Prince Myshkin from Dostoyevsky's The Idiot whom Mironov played on TV not so long ago; there is also a hint at Gogol's Plushkin, but – what is more important – there is a feeling of nothingness pressing from all around, a tragic portrait of the seamy side of Russian soul. The Golovlyovs are decorated in retro style: old mincing machines, a film projector, an aluminum vat under the table, an ancient typewriter on the table. Iudushka's sons Volodya and Pyotr, as well as their cousins Anninka and Liubinka, are disfigured by the heinous Soviet school form, grey blouses and brown dresses...