Review of The Last Station (2009) by Jim J — 15 Feb 2010
Old school melodrama... in a good way. It's a power struggle.
The setting is Russia in the early 1900's near the end of Tolstoy's (played by Christopher Plummer) life. He is not only famous for his novels, but for a economic/social philosophy that seems like a cross between anarchism and communal living. Clearly the seeds of the communist revolution are echoed with the social dissatisfaction of the times. The Tolstoy estate is a strange dichotomy of a baronial estate of accumulated privilege and hippy commune dedicated to living out Tolstoy's philosophy.
The foreground conflict is between Tolstoy's wife (Helen Mirren) and Tolstoy's publicist and the fanatic leader of the Tolstoy movement (Paul Giamatti). Caught in the middle is Tolstoy's naive and idealistic new secretary Valentin (James McAvoy). The question is will the copyright for Tolstoy's works be given "to the people" or will the family retain control.
The interesting part of the story of course is the background arc of the character Valentin as he grows in the ability to understand the meaning of love and weathers the power struggle raging across the estate.
As a film, it's all there. Great characters. Very good writing for great actors who know how to handle big lines. An entertaining mixture of conflicting characters and delightful comedic moments. Flowing cinematography. An understated score. There are also some interesting moments of cinematic history... I did not know there was a paparazzi of that time equipped with Lumiere cameras!
As the credits roll we understand the film's title and get to see some of the footage (or what appears to be) actually shot of Tolstoy's last days.
This review of The Last Station (2009) was written by Jim J on 15 Feb 2010.
The Last Station has generally received positive reviews.
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