Review of The Death of Stalin (2017) by Garry A — 20 Feb 2018

If you were to think, the chaos that erupted in Stalin's Central Committee, immediately following his death, sounds like the perfect setting for a political satire, then you would be right. Armando Iannucci's film manages to take a distinctly dark period in history, and reenact it, with an immaculate balance of horror and comedy.

It is a success in three key areas - firstly, the writing - despite how the trailer is cut, this is not in any way a farce. The comedy is subtle, with jokes taking time to hit their punchlines, often many scenes down the line, which makes the payoff all the more effective. The second element in it's accomplishment, does really counter-balance the first, in that the casting and performances are universally outstanding - it was a masterstroke to allow the actors to speak with their native accents, and not attempt to mock Russian ones, as it grants them freedom to hone their comedic interactions with each other and doesn't distract the audience unnecessarily.

Finally, it is historically accurate - people were living in a climate of total fear, terrified of making any mistake under threat of imprisonment or execution. What the film does, is create this sense of dread, even among the powerful members of Stalin's central committee (who seem still terrified of him even after he is dead), and allow the nervous humour to play off of it. I think the best comedies always have this sense of trepidation balanced with the chuckles, and this is where the movie succeeds ultimately. You learn as you laugh, and although there are some distinctly dark moments throughout, the film never deviates from it's ultimate goal, of providing comic relief.