…with regret I have to notice, that Oleg's film list has rather few classical parts, and those of Russian classics in particular.
One of them is lawyer Likhonin in the screen version of Kuprin's story "The Pit" screened in 1990 at the Dovzhenko Film Studios. On one hand, "The Pit" is principally close to the Russian "physiological essays" of late 19th century. On the other hand, it is penetrated with a sorrowful compassion to a Russian woman, a social victim pushed to her terrible way by poverty, injustice, society, in this case not changing its attitude through ages to the representatives of the first oldest profession.
Kuprin with melancholy wrote about the women gathered in the bawdy-house: kind, hysterical, responsive, cruel, sentimental, and extremely tired of living this horrible life. And after all most of them die without guilt and without sense.
Oleg Menshikov looks absolutely different from the Likhonin described by Kuprin: "old student", "tall, gloomy fellow with a beard", with the views of anarchist-theorist and with the vocation of ardent gambler - billiards, races and cards - "gambler with a wide and fatal range".
On the screen Likhonin is attractive, elegant (probably, even in the part of some ragged beggar Menshikov would've kept the inborn knack of wearing suits, giving the wretched rags a look of elegance). Theories of anarchists' leaders as well as the future of humanity don't bother Likhonin in the film at all. In this Likhonin you will find no explosions of sudden repentance in front of the poor and miserable, and on the whole he is not inclined for altruism. He is a nice, light-minded young man without a slightest burden neither of deep thoughts about world's fate, nor of passionate feelings. He will amuse himself for a while, and then suddenly will commence to settle his own life, make a decent career, still seemingly flying about and conquering.
But then what makes this sweet Likhonin take a girl from the brothel to his house - ordinary, kind, snub-nosed Luba who was a peasant not so long ago and hasn't got used to the new way of earning her living yet?
It's so easy: Likhonin likes to be a hero. Or rather - look a hero. He likes at least for a while to be higher, better, nobler than he really is. In a slightly boyish manner, not without a share of sincerity, but being a bit afraid, he plays noble games performing a defender of poor fallen Luba. These moments the lawyer truly believes that he probably can complete this mission, and, as a good actor, he sees himself at the downstage, hears the thunder of applause, and sees the excited public, cries of admiration, curtain calls. Triumph, triumph, sirs!
Having taken Luba with him, Likhonin, probably, doesn't realize why he after all took the girl away from the "institution" of madam Schoibes. He is always "in the role", in the image, in the respect to his own unbelievable courage. He trusts he can bring the naive and silly country girl from the bawdy-house back to decent life, and Luba will earn an honest livelihood in the manner of decent people from Vera Pavlovna's dreams by Chernyshevsky.
The actor very precisely leaves some gap between the acting Likhonin and the true Likhonin. Gradually, tactfully, slowly he enlarges this gap. Menshikov catches Kuprin's intonations, the precision of his characteristic, when Likhonin taking Luba away thinks about himself in third person: "Yes, he acted as a man, a real man, in the highest meaning of the word! And now he has no regrets about what he has done…"
The actor considers significant the writer's words about Likhonin's pathetic element and theatricality with which he invites the "saved" girl into his room… But gradually our lawyer gives up the role of unselfish benefactor being tired to remain at cothurnus. The deep-laid Likhonin's ego more often whispers into his ear about the simple, habitual, pleasantly ordinary. But in this case what should he do with the "sister and comrade" Luba, who turned out to be an absolutely strange person to Likhonin? He becomes fussy in a way, in his dialogues with "the saved" there appears a shade of guilt, he even starts to make slight advances especially when Luba with her frankness is happy and full of trust in Likhonin.
In one of his far from the most interesting and bright films Menshikov finds full response in communicating with the partner: Luba was performed by a young, capable, emotionally bright and very organic actress Lubov Rudneva.
Oleg Menshikov and Rudneva have been on friendly terms for a long time. When he was a student of Shepkin Theatre Higher School he helped at the entrance examinations: called the entrants for the listening. Among the entrants there was a tall, blond girl, with cute pug-nose, smiling and lively. Something of a daring clowness could be felt in her gift. Lubov Rudneva, who came to Moscow from the Altai, Barnaul, was accepted. She was at the course two years younger than Menshikov's, and it was the course where Oleg also directed skits, concert tricks and was considered a master… Later he recommended Rudneva to Balayan's film "Flights In Dreams and In Reality", and she sharply and professionally (by the way, it was her cinema debut) played a bold girl Svetochka who was the only one to dare tell all the truth to Sregey Makarov (Oleg Yankovsky).
Their friendship continued after the graduation, the actors knew each other very well and that made their work easier, helped to create the inner mobility of the relations between Likhonin and Luba.
They both live as if on the broken block of ice watching the initially thin crack grow bigger and deeper. Thrifty woman who feels a hostess of the house tries to make poor lawyer's room cozier and warmer. At the same time she didn't forget the habits of a brothel girl and that annoys fastidious Likhonin who experiences no romantic or sexual feelings to Luba. Young man suffers the constant presence of ex-prostitute by his side; her looks and her speech sicken him. Her primeval naive soul makes the hero of yesterday laugh and angry. And it will go on till Luba will return to the bawdy-house, now - for good.
Likhonin and Luba are true. Their duet cruelly and pitilessly reveals the inside of the instant nobleness for show, with faint splashes of now almost dying and now slightly sparkling hope: you want to believe that may be the man is still more honest, more reliable, and harder in his noble aspirations? Their characters are in keeping with the idea of Kuprin's "The Pit": "…I only tried to describe the prostitutes' life truly and show people that they can't be treated as they have been treated before. They are human beings too…" Plying love and decency, sympathy born by some morbid, hopeless attempt to fulfill himself, his potential, as a rule, result in a very dramatic ending. With an indispensable victim or victims. In "The Pit" everything seems to end up with small losses. If leave aside the fact that Luba's soul died and can never be brought to life again. If there was no Likhonin on her way, may be she kept believing that someday she would escape the shameful, dirty life, the brothel, the feeling she was a poor rag and everybody who feels like it will wipe their feet on her. Likhonin casually crushed a human being. And went his way…
(from the book by Elga Lyndina "Oleg Menshikov", Moscow - Panorama, 1999)
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