HOME |  CULT MOVIES | COMPETITIONS | ADVERTISE |  CONTACT US |  ABOUT US
 
 
 
Newest Reviews
American Fiction
Poor Things
Thunderclap
Zeiram
Legend of the Bat
Party Line
Night Fright
Pacha, Le
Kimi
Assemble Insert
Venus Tear Diamond, The
Promare
Beauty's Evil Roses, The
Free Guy
Huck and Tom's Mississippi Adventure
Rejuvenator, The
Who Fears the Devil?
Guignolo, Le
Batman, The
Land of Many Perfumes
Cat vs. Rat
Tom & Jerry: The Movie
Naked Violence
Joyeuses Pacques
Strangeness, The
How I Became a Superhero
Golden Nun
Incident at Phantom Hill
Winterhawk
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Maigret Sets a Trap
B.N.A.
Hell's Wind Staff, The
Topo Gigio and the Missile War
Battant, Le
Penguin Highway
Cazadore de Demonios
Snatchers
Imperial Swordsman
Foxtrap
   
 
Newest Articles
3 From Arrow Player: Sweet Sugar, Girls Nite Out and Manhattan Baby
Little Cat Feat: Stephen King's Cat's Eye on 4K UHD
La Violence: Dobermann at 25
Serious Comedy: The Wrong Arm of the Law on Blu-ray
DC Showcase: Constantine - The House of Mystery and More on Blu-ray
Monster Fun: Three Monster Tales of Sci-Fi Terror on Blu-ray
State of the 70s: Play for Today Volume 3 on Blu-ray
The Movie Damned: Cursed Films II on Shudder
The Dead of Night: In Cold Blood on Blu-ray
Suave and Sophisticated: The Persuaders! Take 50 on Blu-ray
Your Rules are Really Beginning to Annoy Me: Escape from L.A. on 4K UHD
A Woman's Viewfinder: The Camera is Ours on DVD
Chaplin's Silent Pursuit: Modern Times on Blu-ray
The Ecstasy of Cosmic Boredom: Dark Star on Arrow
A Frosty Reception: South and The Great White Silence on Blu-ray
You'll Never Guess Which is Sammo: Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon on Blu-ray
Two Christopher Miles Shorts: The Six-Sided Triangle/Rhythm 'n' Greens on Blu-ray
Not So Permissive: The Lovers! on Blu-ray
Uncomfortable Truths: Three Shorts by Andrea Arnold on MUBI
The Call of Nostalgia: Ghostbusters Afterlife on Blu-ray
Moon Night - Space 1999: Super Space Theater on Blu-ray
Super Sammo: Warriors Two and The Prodigal Son on Blu-ray
Sex vs Violence: In the Realm of the Senses on Blu-ray
What's So Funny About Brit Horror? Vampira and Bloodbath at the House of Death on Arrow
Keeping the Beatles Alive: Get Back
   
 
  Death of Stalin, The Kremlin Kapers
Year: 2017
Director: Armando Iannucci
Stars: Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Jeffrey Tambor, Olga Kurylenko, Jason Isaacs, Michael Palin, Andrea Riseborough, Rupert Friend, Paddy Considine, Paul Whitehouse, Dermot Crowley, Paul Chahidi, Adrian McLoughlin, Tom Brooke, Diana Quick, Karl Johnson
Genre: ComedyBuy from Amazon
Rating:  7 (from 1 vote)
Review: A light-hearted romp through one of the darker events in history, Armando Iannucci's The Death of Stalin is a bitter satire with a very dark heart. Criticised for trivialising mass murder and political terror, the film shows up the ridiculous nature of absolute political power and those who wield it. Despite its comic nature, the film keeps pretty close to historical fact (which increases the humour: where does tragedy end and farce begin?).

The film opens by transposing an event from 1949 to 1953, when Stalin requested a recording of a concert he had enjoyed on Radio Moscow. The concert had not been recorded and the musicians were turned out of bed at two in the morning to repeat the performance. The pianist, Maria Yudina (Olga Kurylenko) was indeed a critic of the Soviet regime and did ask Stalin (Adrian McLoughlin) why he tortured and imprisoned his own people, and lived to tell the tale because Stalin genuinely admired artistic talent. In the film she slips a note into the record sleeve. Stalin's reaction to the note causes him to suffer a stroke and sets the plot (and plotting) in motion.

First on the scene is the head of the Soviet secret police, the NKVD, Lavrenty Beria (Simon Russell Beale) whose first task is not to aid his stricken leader but to take possession of secret files he can use to blackmail his colleagues. Beria was a thoroughly loathsome individual and Beale's portrayal is sickeningly accurate ('Shoot her first, but make sure he sees it' he orders when arranging the execution of a married couple). After a hard day at the office he likes nothing better than supervising a torture or engaging in a bit of predatory paedophiliac rape (the bunch of flowers offered to the girl's parents indicates the sex was 'consensual').

The rest of the Politburo follow, headed by Malenkov (Jeffrey Tambor). Nominally Stalin's deputy, Malenkov (Stalin nicknamed him 'Melanie') is unable to take any decision without knowing he is on the 'right' side. Beria quickly takes charge of Malenkov, and thus the Soviet government, sealing off Moscow and replacing army guards with his own NKVD men. Realising what Beria is up to, and with his own ideas and agenda for reforming the state, Nikita Krushchev (Steve Buscemi) begins plotting against Beria despite being kept busy organising Stalin's funeral (an arrangement proposed by Beria himself). This leads to some of the funniest scenes in the film as a frustrated Krushchev is torn between political intriguing and having to choose a pair of curtains ('Ruched or non-ruched?').

Slowly, and with much effort, Krushchev manages to convince the rest of the Politburo that Beria intends to seize power and use Stalin's secret records to have them all eliminated. Realising he needs the support of the army to overcome Beria's NKVD, Krushchev approaches Zhukov (Jason Isaacs), head of the army and severely cheesed off at having his men confined to barracks. Zhukov agrees to support a coup against Beria if the rest of the Politburo (including the dithering Malenkov) is 100% behind it. Taking a gamble, Krushchev says they are.

At Zhukov's signal, during the funeral the army re-takes its place from the NKVD. At a Politburo meeting designed to seal Beria's grip on power, a secret alarm brings Zhukov and a small group of armed officers into the room. Beria is arrested, summarily executed, and cremated in the Kremlin grounds.

This film is literally packed with excellent performances by a group of actors at the top of their game. Jeffrey Tambor's weak-willed Malenkov ('No problem! I mean, er, No! Problem!') is easily pulled this way and that until he no longer knows which way he’s facing: 'I'm the head of the government and I have no idea what's going on,' he sighs, slumping into a chair. Molotov (Michael Palin) is the ultimate committee man and stickler for regulations and procedures even as he understands the absurdity of the struggle for power: 'Stalin would be loving this!'

The standout performance in the last half of the film is Jason Isaacs' Zhukov. Played with a Yorkshire accent, he is a tough-talking, no-nonsense man of action, seems to be the only person with a genuine sense of grief at Stalin’s demise: 'Seen a lot of death, but that is a loss', and very impatient with the political pirouetting going on around him: 'Spit it out, Georgie!' he yells at Malenkov. 'Stagin' a coup 'ere!'

Also in the mix are Stalin's children, the despairing Svetlana (Andrea Riseborough): 'I may as well just shoot myself like mother', and spoiled weakling Vasily (Rupert Friend) who really did send the national hockey team flying into a blizzard causing an aircrash which killed them all.

Filmed on location in Kiev the settings easily convince us we are in Russia in the 1950's, and the photography uses a rich colour palette which emphasises the opulence of the architecture and deep reds of the Soviet banners.

If there is an aspect of the film that reduces its impact, it is the overuse of bad language. Every character seems to use the 'f-' word in its many variations in every other sentence. The screenplay is intelligent enough not to need this; it is distracting and obscures the script's genuine wit. Concentrated in Zhukov's mouth the swearing would make sense, being in character, but overuse dissipates its effect.

As a satire based around Stalin it could be said the film is over 60 years too late (Charlie Chaplin made The Great Dictator at the height of Hitler's power) but that is to miss the point. The use and abuse of political power is timeless: it spans all eras, all regimes, from ancient Rome to Watergate (and beyond). The Death of Stalin is an illustration of human behaviour in a particular setting, rather than a Soviet comedy. The darkness of the subject, when so much is at stake, only serves to highlight the folly with which human affairs are governed.
Reviewer: Enoch Sneed

 

This review has been viewed 3376 time(s).

As a member you could Rate this film

 
Review Comments (0)


Untitled 1

Login
  Username:
 
  Password:
 
   
 
Forgotten your details? Enter email address in Username box and click Reminder. Your details will be emailed to you.
   

Latest Poll
Which star probably has psychic powers?
Laurence Fishburne
Nicolas Cage
Anya Taylor-Joy
Patrick Stewart
Sissy Spacek
Michelle Yeoh
Aubrey Plaza
Tom Cruise
Beatrice Dalle
Michael Ironside
   
 
   

Recent Visitors
Darren Jones
Mark Le Surf-hall
Enoch Sneed
  Louise Hackett
Andrew Pragasam
Mary Sibley
Graeme Clark
  Desbris M
   

 

Last Updated: