The Death of Stalin (2017)

This is not the film I was expecting. Knowing that it was both written and directed by the British Armando Iannucci who gave us the outrageous delights of "In The Loop", "The Thick of It" and Veep", I thought that I was going to encounter a full-blown, satirical comedy (and the trailer had confirmed this impression), but instead - while there are certainly plenty of laughs from a sharp script - this is an altogether darker work, full of foreboding, terror and casual slaughter, than I was anticipating. It is not just the tone that is off-kilter; the brilliant cast makes no attempt to effect a Russian accent but offers everything from a Yorkshire accent to an unashamedly American one.

Several of the characters (the dictator himself played by Adrian McLoughlin) and his eventual successor Khruschev (Steve Buscemi) are known to everyone, but others - like war hero Zhukov (Jason Isaacs) and spy chief Beria (Simon Russell Beale) - will be less-known and still others - such as Malenkov (Jeffrey Tambor) and Molotov (Michael Palin) - will be unfamiliar to many viewers, so you need to be something of an enthusiast for Soviet history to pick up on all the allusions. And real historians will rightly challenge some of the detail because there are some major errors (although these might rather be deliberate distortions to enhance the plot). Iannucci has moved from contemporary Whitehall and Washington to take us to Moscow in 1953 but, if we were expecting "Carry On Up The Kremlin", we have something much more gut-wrenching and all the more effective.

A few weeks before the release of this film, I was in Georgia and visited Gori, the town near where Stalin was born. The year after Khruschev denounced Stalin, a museum was opened in the town to venerate Stalin's leadership and essentially (and astonishingly) the messaging remains unchanged to this day. Oh, how I wish they could show this chilling movie at that museum.

Fmovies: Armando Iannucci is most familiar to TV audiences on both sides of the pond for his cutting political satire of the likes of "Veep" and "The Thick of It", with his only previous foray into directing movies being "In the Loop":  a spin-off of the latter series.  Lovers of his work will know that he sails very close to the wind on many occasions, such that  watching can be more of a squirm-fest than enjoyment.

It should come as no surprise then that his new film – "The Death of Stalin" – follows that same pattern, but transposed into the anarchic and violent world of 1950's Russia. Based on a French comic strip, the film tells the farcical goings on surrounding the last days of the great dictator in 1953. Stalin keeps distributing his "lists" of undesirables, most of who will meet unpleasant ends before the end of the night. But as Stalin suddenly shuffles off his mortal coil, the race is on among his fellow commissariat members as to who will ultimately succeed him.

The constitution dictates that Georgy Malenkov (an excellently vain and vacillating Jeffrey Tambor) secedes but, as a weak man, the job is clearly soon going to become vacant again and spy- chief Lavrentiy Beria (Simon Russell Beale) and Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi) are jostling for position.  (No spoilers, but you'll never guess who wins!).  Colleagues including Molotov (Michael Palin) and Mikoyan (Paul Whitehouse) need to decide who to side with as the machinations around Stalin's funeral become more and more desperate.

The film starts extremely strongly with the ever-excellent Paddy Considine ("Pride") playing a Radio Russia producer tasked with recording a classical concert, featuring piano virtuoso Maria Yudina (Olga Kurylenko, "Quantum of Solace"). A definition of paranoia in action! We then descend into the chaos of Stalin's Russia, with mass torture and execution colouring the comedy from dark-grey to charcoal- black in turns.

There is definitely comedy gold in there:  Khrushchev's translation of his drunken scribblings from the night before (of things that Stalin found funny and - more importantly - things he didn't) being a high point for me. Stalin's children Svetlana (Andrea Riseborough, "Nocturnal Animals") and Vasily (Rupert Friend, "Homeland") add knockabout humour to offset the darker elements, and army chief Georgy Zhukov (Jason Isaacs, "Harry Potter") is a riot with a no-nonsense North-of-England accent. 

The film held my interest throughout, but the comedy is just so dark in places it leaves you on edge throughout. The writing is also patchy at times, with some of the lines falling to the ground as heavily as the dispatched Gulag residents.

It's not going to be for everyone, with significant violence and gruesome scenes, but go along with the black comic theme and this is a film that delivers rewards.

(For the graphical review of the movie, please visit bob-the-movie- man.com or One Mann's Movies on Facebook. Thanks).

What makes this film special is its outstanding ensemble of character actors. The committee room scenes in particular are a riot of jockeying for position, snide remarks and politicking of the highest, or should that be lowest, order. Performers of this calibre could bring even the dullest script to life, but it so happens they have excellent material to work with here, and they rise to it like the thoroughbreds they are.

British theatregoers will be familiar with names that are probably not at all known elsewhere: Dermot Crowley, Paul Chahidi and Karl Johnson are hugely respected in the UK for their distinguished careers on stage. Topping the lot is Simon Russell Beale, the current king of British classical acting, at last finding a film role that gives him an opportunity to show what he can do. He and Steve Buscemi are the central antagonists in THE DEATH OF STALIN, and it is a joy to watch them at each other's throats.

Michael Palin, Jeffrey Tambor, Jason Isaacs, Andrea Riseborough, Rupert Friend, Paddy Considine, Tom Brooke...We are truly spoilt.

The Death of Stalin fmovies. Stalin would be loving it. In 1953 when he is found flat on his back and comatose, Stalin's corrupt, butt-kissing underlings cause chaos and terror with their plotting and scheming to replace him. Nightmares make more sense. Purges sweep away the unwise and unlucky, army and security forces vie for the upper hand, prison doors open and close, executions take place in broad daylight and back stabbing rules the day. This is political satire at its best.

History, humor, brilliant quotes and somber visions about the past, present and future combine for a fantastic film. Truth is stranger than fiction, and one of the wonderful aspects of this film is how much the political trickery cuts to the bone. Vasily Stalin (the dictator's vodka guzzling son) gets on the podium, for instance, and military jets streak across the sky and drown out his speech. A planned distraction? Of course. Stunts like this could happen anywhere and are happening everywhere. The film rings true. It is an eye-opening and fabulous glimpse of the political underworld. This is how people get killed or locked away, when their stories don't fit. The actors are amazingly good, especially Jeffrey Tambor as Malenkov, Steve Buscemi as Khrushchev and Jason Isaacs as Zhukov. If you like politics and history as much as I do, you will love this. The film is in English and a variety of accents. This device (the various accents) heightens the aspect of chaos and confusion. Seen at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Steve Buscemi leads an all star cast of characters in a keystone cop-esque replication of the confusion and anarchy that followed the death of Stalin.

Very dark and witty, but to those with knowledge of these events, so very intuitive.

This is about the steps taken by Stalin's court (The Central Committee) to secure power rather than have another strongman come in, and like Stalin did, clean house.

Listen for some very understated yet powerful lines of dialog here.

I can't wait to see it again. I am afraid of misquoting the lines that i liked so much. Many having to deal with revenge.

I'm on my fourth time watching this film and I continue to catch so many little things that I've missed. The swings between dark humor and frightening drama followed by outright slapstick are brilliant. And having the actors keep their British and American accents just adds to the originality. If you're looking for something better than the same old formulaic schtick coming out of Hollywood, then watch this. Should get an Oscar nod.