Concrete Playground

While some people insist on reading the book before they see the movie and then espousing the benefits of the literary word over that of the cinematic creation, others prefer to just go and see the film. Well, in the case of Tolstoy, the books are fairly heavy going. Particularly when every character insists on having twelve different Russian names with which they are referred to throughout the narrative, leaving you a bit lost as to who actually is going to get the girl. While The Last Station is based not on one of Tolstoy's books but instead on the last weeks of his life, it does occasionally play like some good Russian melodrama.

Valentin Bulgakov (James McAvoy) has been selected to act as the great Leo Tolstoy's (Christopher Plummer) secretary, heading to live with the commune subscribing to the great author's philosophy. Meanwhile Tolstoy's wife Sofya (Helen Mirren in a fantastically over-the-top role) is worried that her family will no longer be provided for after Tolstoy's works are given back to the people, as proposed by the commune. Amongst the scheming machinations between the wife, the friend (Vladimir Chertkov, Paul Giamatti) and the bewildered secretary, Tolstoy is slowing down, giving up on the rich life of an aristocrat.

The film manages to make Russia look luscious and green (though it was filmed in Germany) and posits an idyllic, pre-Revolution Russian countryside. It also is just a spectacular film. Helen Mirren is thoroughly enjoyable as the highly strung and larger-than-life Sofya, and McAvoy's Valentin is boyish and reserved. This movie is lovely; it feels that it belongs in a symbiotic relationship with a nice cup of tea and a scone. It's that kind of film. Everyone puts in their best performances (as evidenced by the many Oscar nods), and you strongly get the sense from Tolstoy's dying days, Russia, and indeed the world, lost a talented soul.