Review of The Last Station (2009) by Unbreakable S — 14 Mar 2010

The Last Station is about the final days of the famous writer Leo Tolstoy(Christopher Plummer) and the fight for the control of his works/money between his loyal Tolstoyan follower Vladimir Chertkov(Paul Giamatti) and his life long wife the Countess Sofya Andreyevna(Helen Mirren).

Chertkov in true Tolstoyan fashion wants to give them to the poor and cement Tolstoy's legend, while the Countess does not want him to, so she and their kids can live comfortably. Sadly this whole film comes across as overly dramatic and overly staged.

I would have guessed it was based off of a play but in actuality it is just an adaptation of a book. A shrill Helen Mirren throughout most of the movie just screams, shouts, and fights with Tolstoy or Chertkov and then cries about it.

About the only scene with those two she doesn't is a very weird love scene with Tolstoy involving a lot of animal sounds, mildly charming but mostly just weird. Just an over the top performance that was undeserving of its nomination.

Thankfully though the film is saved and made worth seeing by James McAvoy's Valentin Bulgakov, the new guy to this scene, who's veiwpoint we witness it all from. While his sneezing whenever nervious still comes across as staged, oh look this is an awkward moment.

While I've never considered myself a fan, his is the natural performance that anchors this picture and in particular his minor side story about his first love with the rebellious Tolstoyan follower Masha.

Played by Kerry Condon in a very charming smaller part. B-.