Leo Tolstoy. My God, what more is there to be said of such an excellent human being? Not only was he the best writer in Russia, he's quite possibly the best 19th century writer that ever lived. We are all more than acquainted with his two masterpieces "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina", and we're aware of the Tolstoyan movement he inspired around Europe which fought against private property and based its ideology on love and freedom. But we, the common public, know very little of his private life, especially of his last days which were lived (in their majority) in quiet turmoil at his estate. Michael Hoffman's delightful new film "The Last Station" brings it all into beautiful focus and gives us a deep, troubling but poignant peak at one great man's mind and his discordant relationship with the woman of his life.
In the film, Countess Sofya Tolstoya (played to perfection by Helen Mirren) is a dramatic, outspoken and witty woman who, notwithstanding her devotion to her husband, is against his every ideology. Helplessly she watches as Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer) is goaded by his political party to give up his copyrights to the Russian public, releasing all his ideas and works to the ownership of public domain. This would be good, really, and it goes along with Tolstoy's hate for private property, but it would also mean the lost of their family's inheritance and the security of all future well-being of all their children. Tolstoy is a kind, warm-hearted and influential man torn between following the ideals he set for the public and the love and responsibility he has toward his wife.
His best friend, Chertkov (Paul Giamatti) and political leader of his party and virtually all his affairs, loathes Sofya as much as she loathes him, and sees her as the only threat to the Tolstoyan movement; the author's work is constantly delayed and set back because of her influence over him and he seeks to vanquish it. Since he's under house arrest at the beginning of the film, he enlists the help of a visionary, pure yet naive young man, Valentin (James McAvoy), and he employs him as Tolstoy's private secretary. Valentin literally worships the ground the author walks on, and believes whole-heartedly in the movement...but he's so naive and so moved by Tolstoy's words that he makes them his own rather than adhering them to his own thoughts. Valentin moves into a small community near Tolstoy's estate where people live purely under the ideals of the movement, and he's meant to keep a close watch on the celebrated thinker while reporting back to Chertkov any hazardous influence Sofya might exert on him. Little does Valentin know that his pure, naive mind is being infiltrated into the household of a very dysfunctional couple who love each other to death but whose ideals are conflictive (to say the least) and which will end up rocking his world altogether.
The film's plot is relatively slow, and it is driven by the words and decisions each of the characters take. Everyone in the film has the best intentions in mind, but their zeal end up causing unbearable discord. There's Sofya and Masha (Kerry Condom), Valentin's love interest, who question the movement and who appeal to his sentimentality and free thought; there's Chertkov and Sasha (Anne-Marie Duff), Tolstoy's zealous daughter, purists who use cold logic to convince Valentin of the righteousness of the movement; and there's Tolstoy himself, at times partial, at times ambivalent, and they all touch Valentin's life deeply and send his mind into a constant turmoil and shock through which he'll have to come out under his own terms. Michael Hoffman does a very good job of focusing the story on all these characters, having Valentin as the spectator of so many influential minds and of so many private fights; it makes the audience identify with young Valentin and take his place among the storm.
The film's technical aspects are all superb; the lighting, sweeping, luscious cinematography, grand score, perfect costume design, excellent production design all do their share in giving the film its undeniable brilliance. But what makes this film so special, so lasting in our memories, and TRULY worthy of commendation is the acting, especially that of Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer in the lead roles. They've been getting loads of buzz around the world, and they do deserve it. The quality of their acting, their pitch-perfect performance never wavers and gains its force each second of the film, making us wonder at all the talent that's gone into the film. I guarantee Sofya Tolstoya and Leo Tolstoy are going to be roles they'll be remembered for forever.
The only flaw of the film (if urged to find one) is that the intensity of the characters make for too much forced ambivalence on the audience, and we as viewers aren't left with the freedom to take sides or make our own conclusions to the topics and discussions we're treated to. Then again, the importance of the film is basically historical, and I don't think it is Michael Hoffman's point to raise important questions or thoughts in us, but merely to treat us to a poignant shard of this extraordinary man's life.
See it! You can't possibly be disappointed. Rating: 3 stars and a half out of 4!
In the film, Countess Sofya Tolstoya (played to perfection by Helen Mirren) is a dramatic, outspoken and witty woman who, notwithstanding her devotion to her husband, is against his every ideology. Helplessly she watches as Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer) is goaded by his political party to give up his copyrights to the Russian public, releasing all his ideas and works to the ownership of public domain. This would be good, really, and it goes along with Tolstoy's hate for private property, but it would also mean the lost of their family's inheritance and the security of all future well-being of all their children. Tolstoy is a kind, warm-hearted and influential man torn between following the ideals he set for the public and the love and responsibility he has toward his wife.
His best friend, Chertkov (Paul Giamatti) and political leader of his party and virtually all his affairs, loathes Sofya as much as she loathes him, and sees her as the only threat to the Tolstoyan movement; the author's work is constantly delayed and set back because of her influence over him and he seeks to vanquish it. Since he's under house arrest at the beginning of the film, he enlists the help of a visionary, pure yet naive young man, Valentin (James McAvoy), and he employs him as Tolstoy's private secretary. Valentin literally worships the ground the author walks on, and believes whole-heartedly in the movement...but he's so naive and so moved by Tolstoy's words that he makes them his own rather than adhering them to his own thoughts. Valentin moves into a small community near Tolstoy's estate where people live purely under the ideals of the movement, and he's meant to keep a close watch on the celebrated thinker while reporting back to Chertkov any hazardous influence Sofya might exert on him. Little does Valentin know that his pure, naive mind is being infiltrated into the household of a very dysfunctional couple who love each other to death but whose ideals are conflictive (to say the least) and which will end up rocking his world altogether.
The film's plot is relatively slow, and it is driven by the words and decisions each of the characters take. Everyone in the film has the best intentions in mind, but their zeal end up causing unbearable discord. There's Sofya and Masha (Kerry Condom), Valentin's love interest, who question the movement and who appeal to his sentimentality and free thought; there's Chertkov and Sasha (Anne-Marie Duff), Tolstoy's zealous daughter, purists who use cold logic to convince Valentin of the righteousness of the movement; and there's Tolstoy himself, at times partial, at times ambivalent, and they all touch Valentin's life deeply and send his mind into a constant turmoil and shock through which he'll have to come out under his own terms. Michael Hoffman does a very good job of focusing the story on all these characters, having Valentin as the spectator of so many influential minds and of so many private fights; it makes the audience identify with young Valentin and take his place among the storm.
The film's technical aspects are all superb; the lighting, sweeping, luscious cinematography, grand score, perfect costume design, excellent production design all do their share in giving the film its undeniable brilliance. But what makes this film so special, so lasting in our memories, and TRULY worthy of commendation is the acting, especially that of Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer in the lead roles. They've been getting loads of buzz around the world, and they do deserve it. The quality of their acting, their pitch-perfect performance never wavers and gains its force each second of the film, making us wonder at all the talent that's gone into the film. I guarantee Sofya Tolstoya and Leo Tolstoy are going to be roles they'll be remembered for forever.
The only flaw of the film (if urged to find one) is that the intensity of the characters make for too much forced ambivalence on the audience, and we as viewers aren't left with the freedom to take sides or make our own conclusions to the topics and discussions we're treated to. Then again, the importance of the film is basically historical, and I don't think it is Michael Hoffman's point to raise important questions or thoughts in us, but merely to treat us to a poignant shard of this extraordinary man's life.
See it! You can't possibly be disappointed. Rating: 3 stars and a half out of 4!