Movie Review: The Death of Stalin (2018)

I will try to avoid spoilers that are not in the trailer. However, since this is based on history, I won't avoid basic historical spoilers as to the lineage of Soviet leadership. See the official trailer at the end of this post.

The Death of Stalin is directed and co-written by Armando Iannucci (creator of the TV seriesVeep) and stars Steve Buscemi,Simon Russell Beale. Jason Isaacs, Michael Palin and Jeffrey Tambor. The film follows the 5-day long death of Soviet Union dictator Joseph Stalin and the power struggle to replace him. Steve Buscemi plays Nikita Khrushchev, who would eventually take over as leader of the Soviet Union.

The film is a dark comedy, a farce showing the absurdity of living in a totalitarian state dealing with bureaucracy and threats of imprisonment at every turn. The actors don't try to do Russian accents or anything. It took a minute to get used to the assemblage of accents from various countries. The actors play familiar versions of characters that the audience is familiar with. There seems little attempt by Buscemi or Tambor to play anything remotely resembling powerful Russian leaders. Being a farce, it works. However, I mistakenly thought some earlier characters were British and American spies making a secret recording, given the accents. I guess I should also mention that this film has a very British sense of humor, relying much on witty dialogue. The comedy may not be readily apparent if not following the dialogue.

The film begins with a concert production going to great lengths to salvage a concert recording for Stalin, where everyone is terrified of making a mistake. This serves as a quick demonstration of the reality we are presented with in the rest of the film. Even the most routine summoning of doctors and musicians by soldiers is met with fear as everyone assumes they must be under arrest or about to be executed. These fears are not unjustified, as people are shown being routinely executed for little reason. There is some talk of trials but that seems to be only for important persons.

A committee is formed to decide on how to proceed with the initial incapacitation and eventual death of Stalin. The humor in the film relies on the ineptitude of the most powerful men in the country. The men all fear each other, the country and even in some ways the dead Joseph Stalin.

The film is just asking to be compared to modern American politics. Tambor is next in line for leadership, but he is a buffoon, caring mostly about photo ops. Simon Russell Beale as Beria is a behind the scenes manipulator. A magnificently funny version of “alternative facts” plays out when Joseph Stalin's son refuses to admit that a plane crash killed the Soviet Union's national hockey team because “Soviet planes don't crash.” It makes conversation impossible as he repeatedly asks everyone what plane crash they could possibly be referring to. He admits at one point that the team is dead, but will not acknowledge any cause of death.

The physical comedy is slight but humorous. This usually arises from power struggles playing out in inept physical struggles against each other. Stalin's son embarrasses himself trying to grab the gun of a soldier. This goes on for some time, with nobody in the room knowing how to react.

Alright, I loved this movie and it's easily going to make my top ten list for the year. See it if you like dark comedy, farce and British humor. It feels much like a play. There isn't much action other than some small fighting and gun violence. I wouldn't be surprised to see this get a stage production at some point. A musical would be brilliant, but I doubt this film will be seen by a wide audience. I give it 5/5 red stars.