The Last Station

The Last Station

Taking a witty sidelong glance at the final years of author Leo Tolstoy's life, The Last Station is far lighter in tone than you might expect.

Sure, there's still plenty of Russian hand-wringing as the script skirts over issues of religion and politics, but The Last Station is entertainment first and foremost. Tolstoy himself may have been a literary heavyweight (literally so, in the case of War And Peace's mighty tomes), but this is a movie that prefers budding romance and sly humor to deeper considerations.

That's not to denigrate it, however - because The Last Station manages to craft an engaging little story from its wit and romance. It's a remarkable achievement, as it somehow makes Tolstoy and slapstick humor go hand in hand.

Christopher Plummer stars as Tolstoy (clearly he's reached the age where he can only play crazy old men with beards - check out his recent performance in The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus), but it's Helen Mirren who steals the show. She manages to be both earnestly passionate and wildly ridiculous as Sophia Tolstaya, Tolstoy's wife, and it's little wonder that she won so many accolades for the performance. It's incredible that she still manages to be so refreshing and surprising every time we see her on the screen.

For the purposes of the story we follow Tolstoy's new secretary Valentin Bulgakov (James McAvoy) as he struggles to get to grips with his role. Bulgakov has been sent to spy on Sophia by Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti), the head of Tolstoy's 'Tolstoian' disciples, but he quickly becomes engaged in their explosive and unpredictable family dynamic. As Tolstoy nears death, however, loyalties are questioned, and the future of his estate is up for grabs.

Both Mirren and Plummer are scattily charming in their roles, and it's good to see McAvoy back in the period costumes that seem to suit him so well. His nervous sneezing fits are one of the film's funniest running gags, and yet he manages to imbue Bulgakov with a serious naivety that suggests hidden depths - it's easily his most fully-rounded performance in several years.

Scholars and biographers will undoubtedly feel let down by The Last Station's rather frothy lightness of touch, but for the average viewer the sneezing fits and histrionics are far more entertaining than their subject might suggest. Clearly Leo Tolstoy enjoyed both war and peace on the home front, too.

4/5

THE LAST STATION

Leo Tolstoy’s final days presented as a bunch of overqualified British thespians (and an underqualified American one) exchanging exposition in genteel, mannered English peppered with an occasional “Doh-svee-dah-nya” for authenticity. A let-loose Helen Mirren and a grotesque Paul Giamatti scramble over Tolstoy’s heritage: one smashes the furniture, the other chews it up, and it’s never entirely clear why the famed mind struggles so much to pick a side between his adoring if eccentric wife of sixty years and a man portrayed by Giamatti as a malevolent, literally moustache-twirling villain. It’s an atrocious, film-destructing piece of acting. Mirren on the other hand, though she never uncovers hidden layers to her role (since there are none), puts on a solid show to distract you from the shallowness.

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Last Station, The (Michael Hoffman, 2009)

THE SCOOP
Director: Michael Hoffman
Plot: A historical drama that illustrates Russian author Leo Tolstoy's struggle to balance fame and wealth with his commitment to a life devoid of material things.

Genre: Biography/Drama/History
Awards: Nom. for 2 Oscars - best lead actress, sup. actor.
Runtime: 112min
Rating: M18 for a scene of sexuality/nudity.

IN RETROSPECT
This film is a surprise contender for my top ten films of 2009. Delicately shot and beautifully written, The Last Station relates the events that happened during Leo Tolstoy’s last remaining years. Tolstoy is arguably the greatest of all Russian writers. His famous literary novels include Anna Karenina, and War and Peace, works that masterfully depict 19^th century Russian attitudes and lifestyles which have enlightened and continue to be admired by readers since their first publications more than a century ago.

The Last Station does not focus on Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer) per se but his relationship with the Countess and his loyal wife, Sofya (Helen Mirren). Sofya wants the rights and monetary benefits to his works to be passed on to her after he dies. But the Tolstoyan Movement as spearheaded by Chertkov (Paul Giamatti) and supported by Tolstoy himself requires his works to become part of the public domain. Thus, the undercurrent of deception runs strong within the Tolstoyan Movement as Chertkov tries to keep Sofya away from her husband.

Plummer and Mirren give powerful performances and deserve their Oscar nominations. Hoffman’s attention to character development in his screenplay is praiseworthy. In one reconciliation scene midway, the two leads share a delightful, romantic moment in their bedroom, teasing each other by making “bird-calling” sounds and eventually settling into a warm, passionate embrace. On hindsight, this scene best portrays the enduring love between the aged couple as it has always been so throughout their long marriage despite their increasingly aggressive disagreements.

The art direction of The Last Station is another commendable aspect. It brings to life the beauty of the Russian wilderness and the simplicity of the country’s traditional architecture. It is also accompanied by an elegant, classical-like score from Sergei Yevtushenko. Not since Andrei Zvyagintsev’s The Banishment (2007) has a film so evocatively capture the “Russianness” of its time. The only sore point of the film is that the dialogue is not scripted in its authentic language but the richly-realized characters more than emphasize the need not to.

Towards the end, a deep sadness envelops the film, providing us with a satisfying tearjerking payoff as we succumb to the inevitability that is history. The Last Station is one of 2009’s few surprises. It is far from a drab affair at first thought and tremendously exceeds expectations, exuding an air of refinedness and understated grace. This should have been a Best Picture nominee at the expense of the wrongly nominated sports drama, The Blind Side (2009).

SCORE: 8.5/10
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Recommendations: Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010), To Kill a Mockingbird (Robert Mulligan, 1962), The Visitor

Singapore's Most Prolific Film Blogger @ www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

Last updated: 2010-03-13 22:30:43 by eternality_tan

The Last Station

"The Last Station" was written and directed by Michael Hoffman. It stars Christopher Plummer ("The Sound of Music") and Helen Mirren ("The Queen"), in what are sure to be two Oscar-nominated perforances this year. The film also stars Paul Giamatti ("Cinderella Man") and James McAvoy ("Atonement"). The movie is an example of great film-making and one of the best movies in 2009. The film debuted at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado earlier this year. I was able to see it at the Music Hall, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire this weekend as part of the Telluride By the Sea Festival.

"The Last Station" is a bio-pic about the last few months of famous author Leo Tolstoy's (Christopher Plummer) life. The conflict in the movie comes from Chertkov (Paul Giamatti), a man who deeply believes Tolstoy's teaching, and Tolstoy's wife, Sofya (Helen Mirren). Both these people want to gain control of Leo Tolstoy's estate. The movie takes place years after Tolstoy finished writing books and deals with the strain on his nearly 50-year marriage. James McAvoy plays the role of Leo Tolstoy's secretary.

By far the most memorable parts of the film are the two leads. Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren are amazing in "The Last Station." These two actors have been acting for decades and their most recent endeavor is an unbelievable success. They play the roles so well. Plummer is completely convincing as the aging author and his interactions with Chertkov and Sofya are believable. He has fantastic chemistry with his wife. They feel like an actual old married couple and not a couple of actors just faking it. It is obvious that they love each other deep down, although at one point Sofya says she hates Leo and on a couple occasions asks him if he in fact loves her. Sometimes anger, frustration, and abandonment get in the way of their relationship. The two actors are able to have such range and sheer emotion in their acting - both serious and angry and sometimes lighthearted if the scene calls for it. The final scene with the two leads is especially memorable as is a scene of slight flirtation, reminiscent of when they were much younger. Sofya's intense hatred toward Chertkov is evident when she wants to know the details about Tolstoy's new will and hates the fact he and her husband have become so close recently. Chertkov is not sensitive at all to her plight, claiming he would have killed himself if he were married to her.

The cinematography in "The Last Station" is also extremely memorable. Every time characters speak the camera goes in for a close up, getting the audience up close to the focus of the scene. Several long shots are also used as the camera pulls back, giving the audience a vast area visible on screen. The film also features several tracking shots as well as occasional partially-out-of-focus frames. Lighting and shadows are also used effectively depending on the tone of the scene. These cinematographic effects and flowing camera movements make "The Last Station" a memorable film.

"The Last Station" is mainly a drama since it deals with a strain on a marriage and a fight to get the estate. However, throughout the film are several lighthearted scenes, serving as comic relief and adding to the enjoyment of the movie. The combination of drama and slight comedy work smoothly and naturally in the film. This is mainly due a strong script which was smartly written and strong in developing the characters.

Overall the pacing is good, however at times it drags on a little. Some scenes could be completely omitted as they severely take away from Plummer, Mirren, and Giamatti screen time - also known as the main reasons to even consider watching the movie in the first place. These scenes include those with Valentin, Tolstoy's secretary and Masha, some random girl he finds at what is essentially a Tolstoyan commune. They try to convince us that they are actually in love, but that is a huge lie. The relationship goes way too fast and feels about as realistic as Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in "Sleepless in Seattle" - an awful, unbelievable movie that Nora Ephron should be ashamed of. The scenes in "The Last Station" with Valentin and Masha are drawn out and unfortunately take away from the story at hand.

The movie is very artistic-feeling, so if you are not into that then avoid the movie at all costs. If you don't like Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren, Paul Giamatti, or James McAvoy also feel free to avoid the movies, because every single scene has at least one of the above mentioned people (who all give impressive performances.) A movie based on a book about the final months of Tolstoy's life may sound boring, but I didn't find that to be true and thought the acting, pacing, and everything that makes a good movie, are present here. The dialogue, characters, and camera movement kept me interested throughout the entire film. 3 1/2 stars out of 4. One of the best movies that I've seen this year, and I've seen a pretty lot.

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The Last Station

The Last Station, based on the novel by Jay Parini, and written and directed by Michael Hoffman, is the engaging story about the last days of Tolstoy and the war for control of his heart, soul and pocketbook between his wife, Sofya, and Vladimir Chertk, the chief disciple of his Tolstoyan philosophy.

When Christopher Plummer (Leo Tolstoy) and Helen Mirren (Countess Sofya Tolstoy) were announced as Oscar nominees, I wondered whose places they took that were more deserving. I wonder no more. As a long-married, long-suffering couple who may not be able to live together, but can’t live without one another either, these two give a master class in acting. The chemistry they generate is palpable. They are absolutely wonderful.

That Mirren is fabulous is no surprise. Coming to prominence in movies later in life than most actresses, she always gets the most out of a line or look without ever going over the top. Mirren literally throws herself into the role of Sofya and The Last Station is the better for it.

Plummer, who seems to be sporting the same beard he wore in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, shines as Tolstoy. It makes one wonder why he doesn’t work more often, he is that good.

Also central to the film are Paul Giamatti as Vladimir Chertk, Tolstoy’s disciple and major thorn in Sofya’s side (he hurls the ultimate insult to Sofya, “If I had a wife like you, I would have blow my brains out or gone to America”) and Tolstoy's Tolstoyan personal secretary, Valentin Bulgakov, played by Jame McAvoy. Both are very good in their respective roles, especially McAvoy, who in addition to the role of peacemaker between the varying parties, has his own story, which in many ways mirrors the story between Leo and Sofya.

Special mention must be given to Sergei Yevtushenko for his original music. His beautiful score adds the perfect touch to The Last Station.

Though a tad longer than it needs to be, The Last Station is definitely worth your time.  The Tolstoys are fascinating characters and this movie definitely does them justice.
 

Last updated: 2010-02-25 15:51:37 by jfuchsman

The Last Station

Period costume drama's. Can I get a hell yeah. Probably not, because usually they manage to be good, but in a way that miraculously manages to gave the viewer no satisfaction at all. Its all about admiring rather then immersing with these things and as a consequence you are not going to fall in love with a movie like The Last Station in the same way you are going to with, say X-Men 2, quality be damned. But this is a good if a little unspectacular example of awards baiting period fare.

Its the story of the twilight times of Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer), or more specifically of his volatile but passionate relationship with his wife (Helen Mirren), told from the vantage point of professional audience surrogate James McAvoy. I make this joke because, just as he did in The Last King Of Scotland, McAvoy's character exists solely to provide an eye into this world and although he has his own subplot, we all know who this story is really about. Both Mirren and Plummer scored Oscar nominations for this movie, and while I have little to argue regarding Mirren, who delivers an impressively impulsive, passionate performance that's stuff of Oscar heaven. Mirren is a great actress who seems only now (and by that I mean the last five years or so) to be getting the kind of credit she deserves. Plummer is good without being extra-ordinary, which is more in tune with the rest of the film to be honest. But his is a nomination I can understand, even if it is a little safe. McAvoy is always an engaging screen presence, and I think now just needs that one great role to set himself apart. This isn't it, although he is as dependable as you'd expect him to be. I loved Paul Giamatti, who is one of the greatest working actors in my book. And his delivery of the line " If I had a wife like you, I would have blown my brains out...Or moved to America." Is perhaps the only laugh in the entire movie. Giamatti continues to rule, even in a sublimated villain role. Anne Marie-Duff continues to slowly but surely make her name, delivering another solid performance to go with her recent Bafta Nomination. She's doing solid work, film by film. The movie itself is solid enough, perhaps stronger ideologically then emotionally, although Mirren's powerhouse performance more then makes up for that.

The Last Station is essentially what you'd expect it to be. Good, well written, factually correct and well acted. But after saying so many times that Tolstoy wasn't a messiah, it then proceeded to treat him like one and that did detract from the movie a little bit. Solid stuff, but it won't pry you away from you're Alien Quadrilogy.

Rating: 7/10

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This Station is all Clear...

If you took a Leo Tolstoy class in college or read one of his works during your time at the library and wanted to know a bit more about the man, don't really look to The Last Station. Does that make it a poor film? Not by a long shot.

The film follows the story of Leo (Christopher Plummer) and Sofya Tolstoy (Helen Mirren), married couple for 43 years, and the battle that raged between them at the end of Leo's life. As Leo's health is ailing, his long time friend Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti) urges Leo to write a new will, renouncing his material possessions, leaving his wife and family with nothing. All of this is in order to have Leo's movement of peace to go to the majority. Chertkov sends a young follower of the Tolstoyan movement, Valentin Bulgakov, to investigate and inscribe all of Sofya's exaggerated and histrionic antics to work against her campaign.

Firstly, the film is A-typical period piece with all the correct elements of that type of film. Art Direction by Mark Rosinski and Heike Wolf, stunning costume design by Monika Jacobs, and a score to die for by Sergei Yevtushenko is pitch perfect and exalted brilliance. Nothing is wrong with this film technically.

An extraordinary narrative beautifully adapted by the director Michael Hoffman is one of the crowning achievements of his career. Dedicating his all for the sake of the art form, Hoffman writes and directs the screen with meticulousness and accuracy. Playing that extra special detail to smooth out an rough edges paid off for Hoffman immensely.

The cast presented in The Last Station is stellar and one of the best cast ensembles of the 2009. James McAvoy, proving once again, that you don't just lay down the words of your acting, you let the spirit fight its way through your soul and remain a tangible entity for your audience to engage. McAvoy proves he's one of Hollywood's most outstanding talents. Helen Mirren, riding the see-saw with her viewers, never declares any type of emotion until the bitter end. Mirren shows no apparent ambiance of mood or expression. She sizzles through the film, igniting every scene on fire along the way. Christopher Plummer as the lovable Leo is amiable, captivating, and entrancing. Plummer, a talent long overdue for Oscar recognition is enticing. Paul Giamatti, in a more villainous role we haven't seen of him before, is always dependable and alluring. Anne-Marie Duff and Kerry Condon are both enthralling in their roles respectively.

The Last Station is a definite contender for a Best Picture nomination. It's a delightful film full of heart, love, and heartbreak. The temptation of the films aura will lure you in and surely leave you in tears.

Vincent Snavely