The Death of Stalin (2017)
Director: Armando Iannucci
Starring: Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Paddy Considine
Synopsis:
Stalin's inner circle struggles for power in the wake of the dictator's unexpected death.
Impressions:
I'd heard good things about this one, so I was wanting to check it out. While this film is not documentary-accurate, there's more truth to it than you probably would want to admit (more so than a lot of "based on a true story" films). Having really enjoyed Bob Hoskins performance as Khruschev in Enemy at the Gates, it was a bit weird seeing Steve Buscemi in the role, but all the bickering of the inner circle plays well to his talents. Of course the most glorious performance is Jason Isaacs as Marshal Zhukov, but there are plenty of other standouts in the cast like Simon Russell Beale as the slimy Beria and Jeffrey Tambor as the hapless Malenkov. The response to this film by the Russian government amused me a bit as they seem to by vying with the Germans for the best sense of humor in the world, especially as I was under the impression that Stalin had been repudiated. Browsing some of the critical response, not everyone's funny bone got tickled, but I think the film does pretty well achieving what it meant to do and I would recommend giving it a watch at the very least.
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