La Mort de Staline

There's no avoiding truths rapidly passed over in this depiction of chaos following the death of an evil dictator. Stalin had charm...to those who were not his subjects and were never a threat to his authority. He fooled many so-called intellectuals in the West but everyone around him knew the truth, and, most managed to tip-toe over eggshells in order to stay alive. To thrive in such an environment requires a certain kind of callous ruthlessness...perfectly depicted with suitable crass humour here. The cast is perfectly chosen...each very accomplished actor adding their particular star dust. There's more than a single sittings' content in this film which deserves another viewing. Impressive and engaging story-telling based on real life events. Bravo all.

... and yet this film does just that. It revolves around the power struggle that occurs at the death of Stalin in 1953, a man who had an iron grip on Russia for 30 years and enforced his will with terror, often randomly.

So when the sycophants who surround him are suddenly bereft of his soul, they are all jockeying for power while finding it very difficult to do the one thing that would get you tortured and killed as long as they can remember - independent thinking, or even making suggestions for that matter. A simple show of hands vote becomes a hilarious demonstration of group think. They all have a collective case of Stockholm Syndrome when it comes to Stalin, still afraid of a man who is dead.

Jeffrey Tambor is doing his character Hank from the 90s sitcom "The Larry Sanders Show", and Steve Buschemi, as Nikita Khrushchev, doesn't look like any picture of Khrushchev that I ever saw at any point in his life. Plus he's basically doing his "funny looking guy" schtick from Fargo, and yet it all works.

When Lavrenti Beria, head of the secret police and probably responsible for untold terrors, gently tells Stalin's daughter that she needs to leave Russia because people who are strange like she is don't live very long, it is practically a sweet intimate moment that runs counter to everything we know about the guy.

This is a bleak yet hilarious comedy built around real events. I'd highly recommend it.

It must have been very daunting to make a film revolving around the period during the death of one of the world's most notorious dictators and mass murderers Joseph Stalin and its aftermath, and make it one that was entertaining, clever and beautifully produced and acted while not trivialising the horrors of the time.

'The Death of Stalin' embraced this challenge and fully succeeded in its goal. 'The Death of Stalin' was one of those films where expectations were high (considering there are some truly great actors here) and those expectations were only met but exceeded. It won't be for the faint hearted, it can be violent in a very gruesome sense. While it is very evocative and well-researched, it is history but not quite as we know it (kind of like a more sophisticated version of Horrible Histories). Some may have a problem with the film not having authentic Soviet accents, and instead a mix of English and US ones, to me this was not a problem as there are many adaptations of Russian literature that mostly don't attempt authentic accents and when they are attempted it has wildly variable results.

2017 has been a very hit and miss year from personal opinion for films. Some very good to great films and also some less than average to rubbish ones, as well as ones that fall somewhere in between. Some may say that for any year in film, but to me 2017 was one of the most hit and miss. 'The Death of Stalin' is a clear highlight. Didn't find that much wrong with it, the character of Svetlana is not as interesting and doesn't have the same depth as the rest of the characters perhaps but this is compensated by Andrea Riseborough still making the most of what she has. The occasional clunker in the writing too but they are vastly out shadowed by the rest of the script being so good.

Even with a couple of minor reservations, 'The Death of Stalin' as said succeeds in achieving a very difficult task and achieving an ideal balance. Despite how it sounds it is not even close to being as offensive as it easily could have been, making something funny out of one of the darkest (maybe the darkest though it's not in a particularly good, if nowhere near as terrible, state now either periods for Russia/The Soviet Union)on paper does not sound tasteful, but 'The Death of Stalin' splendidly works its way around that potential issue.

Visually, 'The Death of Stalin' looks beautiful. The settings and costumes are meticulous in detail and evocative, a lot of homework went into recreating this period, looking both sumptuous and atmospheric. The cinematography is fluid and natural and has the right amount of grit and audaciousness. The music has a mix of the rousing and understated.

Armando Iannucci directs with complete command and control of the subject, his trademark touches of political amorality and dark and sometimes broad but witty and offbeat humour come through loud and clear. He doesn't try to soften reality, nor does he try to make it one big joke, he could easily have done that but he doesn't and he deserves a lot of credit for that.

Further good things are a clever script that has genuinely funny moments and also some truly thought-provoking ones. As soon as the opening sequence begins and happens one knows they're in for a treat. 'The Death of Stalin' is never dull and is hugely entertaining but also has a darker edge in exploring the full terror of Soviet life during the Great Terror, struggle for power and the purge and not trivialising it, it's actually pretty harrowing and poignant.

One cannot talk about 'The Death of Stalin' without mentioning the uniformly outstanding cast, the standouts being Simon Russell Beale giving a performance of almost Shakespearean complexity and Steve Buscemi who bags some of the best moments.

Jason Isaacs steals scenes when he appears (and Paddy Considine delights in his), Andrea Riseborough makes the most of her role and Rupert Friend being this good was a pleasant surprise. Michael Palin is indeed more subdued form than usual but it suited the character and he does it perfectly, personally like that side to him. Jeffrey Tambor is great fun and Olga Kurylenko is expressive.

Summarising, really great and one of 2017's best films. 9/10 Bethany Cox

You might think The Death of Stalin was a parody or a black comedy or a farce. We know that the actors are playing actual people some of whom lived until the late 1980s. The weird thing is the actual events depicted in the movie happened in some form.

In real life, when Stalin was lying on the floor in his soiled pajamas after he suffered a stroke. They needed to call a meeting to decide whether to call a doctor. Stalin's personal physician was unavailable as he was being tortured at the time for suggesting Stalin needed more bed rest.

Armando Iannucci mines comedy gold in an absurd, surreal, darkly violent tale of who wants to be the next leader of the Soviet Union. It is not a historical tale, it is a story of what can happen in any society where dogma and the bullet become the main currencies.

Taking his lead from the farcical absurdity which he has always done so well, director Iannucci turns to Soviet politics and the days after the death of Stalin. In doing so he produces a film that seems like a bit of a hard sell; truth be told it took me a minute to be motivated to watch it on the basis that it didn't "sound" good. From the opening scenes though, the tone is clear and strong. The uneasy actions of the inner circle are played out in a "relaxed" meal, while at the same time an entire orchestra frantically try to save their own lives by simply complying with a request from Stalin. These opening scenes are funny and absurd but yet they have a genuine menace and fear to them.

It is hard to describe but neither of these aspects undercut the other. The film manages to work as it plays out a massacre but yet has wonderfully funny dialogue and performances. This combination is deftly balanced and I wish I even had the skill to explain it, far less do it. The cruelty of the clamber for power, and the ruthless callousness of those who have it is chilling even as you laugh, but it is the laughter that is more impressive. The absurd but witty dialogue, combined with plenty of genuinely funny comedic touches in the small details (the accents, the pyjamas, the phrasing), all make the film very funny and had laughs where I least expected it at times. The cast are well served with the material, and are very good at making the most of it. Buscemi, Tambor, Beale, McLoughlin, Palin, Whitehouse, Friend, Isaacs, and really all the cast get the tone of the film just right. The comedic timing is spot on for all, but so too are the performances of men scheming and manipulating all the time while knowing the firing squad may be just around the corner.

Well worth watching. It has moments as funny as Thick of It etc, but yet has a darkness that makes it much more satisfying and engaging to watch.