New details have emerged about "The Idiot(s)," the satirical Dostoevsky film from directors Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert, including its setting, supporting cast and stylistic flourishes. The film follows Fyodor Dostoevsky (Johnny Flynn) and his wife Anna (Aimee Lou Wood) during a stay in Germany, ostensibly so he can write his next novel, but instead depicts him gambling away money, drinking heavily and socialising with fellow writer Ivan Turgenev (Christian Friedel) and his girlfriend (Vicky Krieps), while Anna works to keep him on track.

The screenplay, credited to Szumowska, Englert, Kasper Bajon and Brid Arnstein, deliberately avoids conventional biopic reverence, portraying Fyodor as buffoonish and self-pitying while giving Anna genuine agency rather than passive victimhood. Stylistically, the film leans into playful anachronisms, such as a 19th-century rendition of A-Ha's "Take On Me," and outlandish visual gags, alongside affectionate nods to Dostoevsky's actual novel The Idiot. Critics note Wood's performance recalls her breakout role in The White Lotus, and while the film is praised for its inventive tone, some feel it runs longer than needed.