Review of The Last Station (2009) by John S — 25 Jun 2011

This movie is a towering achievement due to one simple thing: Helen Mirren. Fresh off her Oscar win for 'The Queen,' Mirren does it again playing the 'vigorous' wife of Leo Tolstoy. Christopher Plummer likewise is brilliant in the other lead role, and both develop such a chemistry you believe all the grief and joy on screen at every moment. Overall, the cast is dynamite - James McAvoy and Paul Giamatti top off the perfection. It's not without flaws, though, and I'm sure I would appreciate it much more if I were more educated on the historical aspects the film revolves around.

(on a side note - I saw this film after the Oscar nominations, and besides being overly-shocked at the Best Picture snub (The Blind Side?!) - I think I feel very safe in saying that Helen Mirren delivers the STRONGEST performance out of the 5 nominated in Lead Actress. The fact that Sandra Bullock is favored to win OVER Mirren is 100% solid proof that the Oscars do not award the best, they award based solely on who is due. Terribly disappointing...).