The Death of Stalin is about the chaos and struggle for power after Soviet Leader Joseph Stalin’s demise.
But this is no documentary or historical drama. It’s a British-made dark comedy that’s like the long-lost cousin of Dr. Strangelove.
Based on the graphic novel La Mort de Staline, it features an ensemble cast, including Steve Buscemi and Monty Python’s Michael Palin.
It is a film where history is more of a backdrop, a caricature of events rather than an account. It plummets us into a world of paranoia that the Russian people and Soviet Cabinet Members struggle to navigate alive.
And though the movie was aiming for laughs, it grew teeth. Russia panned and banned it, calling it a piece of an “anti-Russia information war.”
Interested?
So was I.
But despite all the acclaim from critics and audiences alike, was the film satisfying? Let’s find out.
So is The Death of Stalin a good movie?
The Plot of The Death of Stalin:
Joseph Stalin (Adrian McLoughlin) calls Radio Moscow and commands the director, Yuri Andreyev (Paddy Considine), to send him a recording of the night’s performance.
The problem? The performance is already finished.
Frazzled and fearing he will be executed if he disappoints Stalin, the director refills the auditorium and forces the orchestra to play Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 over again.
At first, Pianist Maria Yudina (Olga Kurylenko) refuses to play again, but she is convinced to do so.
When the recording is delivered to Stalin, he finds a note from Yudina tucked inside the sleeve.
Stalin reads the note. It calls him out for his evil deeds and wishes him dead. He laughs as he reads it but suddenly begins to choke and falls to the floor.
When the members of the Central Committee, including Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi) and Lavrenti Beria (Simon Russell Beale), learn about Stalin’s illness, they rush to his home.
With Stalin dying, the members of the Central Committee plot the country’s fate and the best alliance to serve their own agendas.
The Rest of the Main Cast Includes:
- Jason Isaacs as Field Marshal Georgy Zhukov
- Rupert Friend as Vasily Stalin
- Michael Palin as Vyacheslav Molotov
- Andrea Riseborough as Svetlana Stalina
- Dermot Crowley as Lazar Kaganovich
- Paul Chahidi as Nikolai Bulganin
- Paul Whitehouse as Anastas Mikoyan
- Jeffrey Tambor as Georgy Malenkov
- Tom Brooke as Sergei, an audio engineer for Radio Moscow
- Justin Edwards as Spartak Sokolov (Conductor 1)
- Paul Ready as NKVD Officer Delov
- Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Musician 1
- Nicholas Woodeson as Boris Bresnavich (Conductor 2)
- Sylvestra Le Touzel as Nina Khrushcheva
- Nick Sidi as NKVD Officer Bogdan Kobulov
- Jonny Phillips as NKVD Officer Pervak
- Tim Steed as Sergeant guarding Stalin’s bedroom
- June Watson as Matryona Petrovna, Stalin’s housemaid
- Alex Harvey-Brown as Soldier guarding Stalin’s bedroom
- Daniel Tuite as NKVD Officer Sliminov
- Karl Johnson as Dr. Pavel Lukomsky
- Cara Horgan as Lidiya Timashuk
- Eva Sayer as Young Waitress
- Diana Quick as Polina Molotova
- Dan Mersh as Ice Hockey Coach
- Richard Brake as Anatoly Tarasov
- Jonathan Aris as Mezhnikov, the funeral arranger
- Gerald Lepkowski as Leonid Brezhnev
- Luke D’Silva as Kirill Moskalenko
- Dave Wong as Zhou Enlai
- Daniel Fearn as Ivan Konev
What’s Working Well:
Show us the Paranoia, +2 Points
We see how Stalinism infected the Russian people in this movie with paranoia.
After Andreyev answers Stalin’s phone call requesting a recording of the night’s performance, he tells the caller he’ll be back in touch in seventeen minutes.
Realizing the caller was Stalin, he panics. Seventeen minutes from when Stalin called or seventeen from when he hung up? Did he hear the correct phone number to call Stalin back, a five or a nine at the end?
And the Central Committee must also walk the tightrope.
At a dinner party at Stalin’s, Malenkov asks what happened to their friend, forgetting they were killed. Krushchev, coming to his rescue, quickly runs interference with a joke. Later, he tells Malenkov to write down everything he said tonight, just in case of an inquisition later.
And Krushchev goes home to his wife and reviews the jokes he made to Stalin, documenting what made him laugh and which fell flat.
It’s wild and wacky, but it feels authentic.
Portrait of a Disgusting Crew of Pigs, +3 Points
The standout cast gets excellent lines, and all threaten to steal the movie. They make us despise, yet feel uncomfortably drawn to, the madness of the Committee’s games and sick double-dealings, perversions, or outright murder.
Jason Isaacs is instantly magnetic as Field Marshal Zhukov. Sarcastic and with his chest puffed out, he carries himself with the swagger of a man who gets lost in peacetime.
Steve Buscemi’s Nikita Khrushchev loves to share horrific anecdotes and drops funny quips. He never shuts up nor stops plotting.
Jeffrey Tambor shines as the insecure and hapless Molotov, who shifts his thinking with whatever way the tide seems to be turning. His patheticness holds shades of his George Bluth from Arrested Development.
And Simon Russel Beale crafts a despicable Lavrenti Beria. He hands over names of people to kill like it’s a shopping list. He expresses gratitude for desperate wives who trade sexual favors to save their husbands, grateful they “f$&# like sewing machines.”
Not as Difficult to Follow, +1 Point
With a large cast and being a political comedy, I was expecting a serpentine plot like a barrel full of tangled snakes.
But the plot is easy to follow and won’t leave you behind.
Tons of Accents – But None From Russia, +1 Point
The Death of Stalin is in English, and the movie has no Russian accents.
Director Armando Iannucci did this for two reasons.
One, he didn’t want the audience to be distracted by any poorly executed Russian accents.
Two, he didn’t want to dissuade the actors from improvising, which would have been harder without their native speaking patterns.
Yet, as Russia is diverse, Iannucci wanted various accents in the film.
And it’s a choice that works.
Steve Buschemi walks around lambasting underlings and complaining to his comrades in his familiar Brooklyn accent.
Adrian McLoughlin’s Stalin sounds cockney (Michael Caine’s accent), undermining his powerful status.
And Jason Isaac’s irreverent Zukov has Yorkshire flavor.
Hot Potato Politics, +2 Points
At the heart of the drama, the Central Committee is constantly squabbling and jostling for position – who will take the fall for each new problem.
It exposes this film’s Soviet machine. It’s not a grand vision or wisdom at the top; it’s a circus of people playing hot potato with blame.
One may turn against the other at any minute, only to become allies again if the winds shift.
What Needed Improvement?
You Can’t Get Enough of the Comedic Dialogue…Or Can You? -3 Points
I have only one negative note for this movie, but it carries a lot of weight. And by “weight” I mean an anvil, not a dumbbell.
There are some funny events, but most of the jokes in this movie are verbal barbs and retorts – and it gets tiring.
I wasn’t expecting slapstick, but some variety was needed.
I’m not trying to get all Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker (makers of Airplane, etc.). Still, you could imagine a gag around Stalin slipping slowly into death.
Imagine the whole Committee gathering around Stalin, trying to hide their relief at his passing.
They hang on to every breath to see if it’s the last, their heads bobbing up and down with his belly as it’s taking in the air. The tension, the comedy, as he oh-so-slowly dies – or does he?
In one of the film’s moments, Beria is caught dejected at what looks like a turnaround for Stalin.
So this was done to an extent, but I imagine it could take it to another level.
Or maybe an object gets stuck on Stalin’s corpse’s face, and they must attempt a strange path to keep it hidden from the public for the funeral.
Or maybe post-death Stalin’s makeup makes him look comically bizarre, complicating the funeral because he looks like a drag queen now.
There was an opportunity for various comedic choices, not just dialogue-driven jokes, and it wasn’t taken.
Should I Watch The Death of Stalin?
Total Score: 6 Points
I love comedies with dark humor. I love British things. I’m a fan of witty dialogue.
I love movies based on history. The critique of the Stalin-era Soviet Empire still feels timely. I liked all those things I just wrote above and…
Okay, enough defenses, and I’ll just get to the “but” part of this: I loved this movie’s setup and execution but liked but didn’t love the film.
There. I had to do it.
It’s a crying shame because everything about the movie is pretty brilliant. Yet the film’s brand of humor fell flat with me.
But that doesn’t mean YOU won’t enjoy it.
This is a highly-rated independent film with great performances and a kickass original idea.
Plenty of audiences and critics have praised it and found entertainment.
So even though it wasn’t fully to my taste, I encourage you to try it. This effort deserves it. And perhaps your alignment is perfect here.
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Disclaimer:
This review’s factual information was gathered through online sources, like Wikipedia, IMDB, or interviews. Misrepresentations and errors are possible but unintentional.
Making art is hard. This is a fan’s blog. Any criticisms are meant to be constructive.
