Review of The Last Station (2009) by Panos T — 23 Feb 2010

OK, so I'm the weird kind of bookish person who is actually interested in a film about Tolstoy's last years and the struggle over his literary estate that develops between his favourite disciple and his wife, but evidently the film needs a broader base than that, and therein lies the problem with The Last Station. It's filled with proper actors, performing marvellously, but you can't help noticing that you're watching Helen Mirren and Paul Giametti going through their routines, with a conventional tacked romantic interlude between James McAvoy and Kerry Condon.

On the other hand, Christopher Plummer completely inhabits his role and convinces as Tolstoy, putting real character behind the man's revolutionary ascetic, pacifistic ideals. While it never really explores these beliefs and sentiments in any great detail, it does go some way towards making The Last Station a little more meaningful and enjoyable as a film.