The Death of Stalin

Some films like to spoil the story with its title. And that's what happens with The Death of Stalin. Directed and co-written by Armando Iannucci, this is a darkly satirical history lesson adapted from a French Graphic Novel. Let's see what we can learn here.

It's 1953 and Josef Stalin (Adrian McLoughlin) rules the Soviet Union with an Iron Fist. Anyone who speaks out against him "disappears." Maria Yudina (Olga Kurylenko) is a pianist who hates Stalin. She decides to tell him off in a strongly-worded letter. Stalin gets a good laugh over it and immediately suffers a cerebral hemorrhage which later kills him.

The Central Committe, which includes Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi), Georgy Malenkov (Jeffry Tambor) and Lavrentiy Beria (Simon Russell Beale), scramble to take command. They have their own self-interests in mind and won't hesitate to advocate them. Their political scheming plays out as they organize Stalin's funeral. Fun times?

It all plays out for 107 minutes. The characters act like estranged siblings squabbling over their late father's estate. They argue over petty things like Bishops attending the funeral and whose car gets to go first out of Stalin's driveway. We get some laughs over their political blundering. But their darkest deeds are played seriously. It seems the point was to make us question laughing at villains. But it felt like jarring mood whiplash.

The cast was a fine bunch of schemers. Tambor as Malenkov was good as the most sympathetic of the bunch. Buscemi's Khrushchev was an unexpected casting choice, but he still made a fine "good guy" who reveals himself in due time. Beale's Beria was pure evil, but his karmic kangaroo court felt excessive even for him. Rupert Friend stole the show as Vasily Stalin, Stalin's bumbling son. Jason Isaacs was also awesome as General Zhukov.

The film's best technical comrade is composer Chris Willis. His classically-influenced score adds some epicness to the satire. The whole soundtrack is just waiting to join a concert set list. Zac Nicholson's cinematography helps accentuate the film's darkest moments. These moments make Cristina Castali's production design feel appropriately claustrophobic. Her recreation of Stalin's Dacha and the Kremlin were visually appealing, as were Suzie Harman's costume designs.

One might question what's so funny about The Death of Stalin, and I did too at times. But its greatest strength is its thematic discussions. Revolutionaries who turn out worse than the toppled. All-Powerful governments that aren't what they're cracked up to be. Nice guys corrupted by power. You'll laugh and cringe at how these issues still persist today. Especially cringe.