The Death of Stalin (Review)
The Death of Stalin is Cuckoo for Comrades
I’m no history expert, so it’s always fascinating to me when movies like The Death of Stalin come along. Loosely based on the events leading to and following the death of the Soviet dictator, it tells the frantic story of those left in his wake squabbling for power in a country that would just as soon execute you as talk to you. An all-star cast of some of the best in comedy makeup Stalin’s inner circle, and while I’m sure very little of it is factual, I think it captures the absurd spirit of what went on behind the iron curtain.
I cannot stress just how amazing the cast is in The Death of Stalin. At the center of the film are the likes of Steve Buscemi, Jeffrey Tambor, and Simon Russell Beale. The trio proves to be as excellent at backstabbing as they are in bureaucracy as they become paranoid and power hungry in the absence of the great leader. It’s hilarious watching them skate the fine line between conniving and conspiracy against the state. This balancing act quickly becomes a dance, the thing is that none of these characters are very graceful. The result is a frantic race among bumbling idiots to try to betray each other and secure their own future.
Oddly enough, one of my favorite things about The Death of Stalin is that no one tries to act Russian in it. There are no fake accents or attempts at being hardened stoics. Instead, the cast is mostly made of up American and British actors who keep their own accents intact, making this seem more like an episode of Drunk History than anything else. Of course, this is all due to the fact that most of the cast play it straight-faced, yet inept. A beautiful combination in capable hands, and the entire cast of The Death of Stalin flawlessly pull off this juggling act.
As soon as you sit down to watch The Death of Stalin, Armando Iannucci iconic sense of humor shines through. Many of you might know him as the man behind the HBO series Veep or the film In the Loop. He excels at taking the mundane and injecting just enough humor to make it absurd without crossing the line into ridiculous. Despite the fact that the story might make it seem like everything is in turmoil, Iannucci presents a sort of polished chaos. A film that seems natural and improvised, but with a keen sense of timing and delivery. The Death of Stalin seems like an effortless masterpiece and one that has secured Lannucci’s place as one of the great political satirists of our time.
The fact of the matter is that The Death of Stalin is a terrifying film that’s hidden well behind a curtain of comedy. The mass executions and blind loyalty to the state are constantly lurking in the background. At one point, when Stalin is dying the inner circle realizes that they had all the “good doctors” in Moscow executed for suspicion of plotting against the state and they will have to rely on “bad doctors” to treat their glorious leader. This is also driven home in the way they whisper sweet nothings into each other’s ears while plotting their own plays. As confident as they are in their success, they never stop looking over their shoulders or lowering their voice to avoid being seen as a threat to communism. It’s hard not to see the parallels between the turmoil in The Death of Stalin and our modern political landscape. Just turning on the news for a few minutes will make your head spin, so let’s hope that Iannucci is around in 10 years to make a film about our current president.
The Death of Stalin is an uproarious movie that is a far cry from a lot of the raunchy films we see in theaters these days. It’s a thoughtful comedy filled with moments that come dangerously close to creating second-hand shame. It’s definitely a movie that has its eyes set on a particular audience but is accessible to anyone looking for an engaging and hilarious movie to distract them from our own political climate. It’s Cold War comedy gold.
