The Death of Stalin is a political satire comedy film directed and co-written by Armando Iannucci, the creator of Veep for HBO. Based on the French graphic novel La mort de Staline, the film is a hilarious look into power struggles following the death of Joseph Stalin. It’s fantastically acted, with quick witty dialogue, and very funny.
It’s 1953 and Joseph Stalin is the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He has all the power and rules with an iron fist. If you cross the Communist Party, you disappear. After a party Stalin is paralyzed by a cerebral hemorrhage, and is not discovered until the next morning. His Committee of Soviet party members are called in. For the next three days they have meeting upon meeting to discuss what to do with comrade Stalin, dying in the next room. After his death the movie becomes a quick paced political drama as we follow his top party members as they try to out-maneuver once another for power in a hilarious fashion.
The film stars Steve Buscemi as Khrushchev, Jeffrey Tambor as Malenkov, Michael Palin as Molotov, Simon Russell Beale as Beria and Jason Isaacs as General Zhukov. All turn in incredible performances as they deliver the fast-paced dialogue and comic timing. These are some of the best actors assembled in one scene at times. Fellow actors should study this movie, it’s fascinating to watch. Much time and care was given to the relationship between the actor and director, that much is clear.
One of the best scenes is where Stalin is dying on the floor and all the party members stand over him discussing if they should call a doctor. See, a few months earlier there were rumors of a plot to kill Stalin and other high ranking officials in the party by many of the best doctors in Russia, known in history as “The Doctors Plot.” Over time this was shown to be false. Looks like the jury could still be out on this; a mystery lost to history and time. But, needless to say, due to this plot against Stalin, all the “good” doctors were killed. And the discussion is who will save Stalin, are there any good doctors left? And if they get a bad one, and he saves Stalin, does that make him a good doctor, thus in turn he must be killed too? It’s laugh out loud funny and completely ridiculous.
In a strange way the movie is somewhat factual even in its satirical form. The events in the film all actually happened. Maybe not as overdramatized as is presented here, but they did happen. The movie plays like a really intense stage play at times: lots of simple static shots where the camera is just placed and we just watch the talent and story unfold. That simple camera motion allows you to feel as if you’re a part of the drama. Even though you’re laughing, there is a feeling of being on the “edge of your seat” without knowing how this story will end. The vast majority of people, outside Russian History majors, have never heard this story.
The movie is a lot of fun and educational, in its own way. If you’re a fan of good acting, great witty dialogue, and history then this is a perfect evening out.
