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“They think you're Christ!” screamed the much aggrieved wife of Leo Tolstoy. Living in the shadow of Russia's greatest writer was one thing, living secondary to his entourage and legion of sycophants was quite another. And in the hands of Oscar nominated Helen Mirren, Countess Tolstoy became a terrifying force of nature as her love for her husband was confounded by his fame and famously divergent views. Witness to this whirlwind of professional and personal relationships is Tolstoy's freshest acolyte, James McAvoy in splendid wide-eyed form.
Director Michael Hoffman finds an interesting balance between the comfortably familiar stylings of period drama and uneasy emotion that makes Russian cinema so challenging. Mirren is all overblown hysteria, Christopher Plummer's Tolstoy stands tall and remote in a muttering fancy. A devious Paul Giamatti circles like a social wolf, forcing the Countess to ever more extreme behaviour to secure her husband's affection. McAvoy, trapped and bewildered, watches on. When their marriage collapses along with Tolstoy's health, they all seek shelter at a distant railway town, a physical and metaphorical end of the line.
Fans should note that the depth of Tolstoy's work is not necessarily present. That is not to say the film is devoid of literary intent but Hoffman's focus is on Tolstoy the man rather than his writing. Thus anyone who relishes actors acting will find The Last Station a triumph. The entire cast dive into meaty roles that give audiences a feast of action as they play it up, without overplaying it, setting free a thunderous wave of emotion. The result is a tragi-comedy of Shakespearean theatricality that is at once engaging, edifying and thoroughly entertaining.
// COLIN FRASER
moviereview colin fraser film movie australia review critic flicks