The Last Station (2009)

The Last Station is a film that is carried by actors, and no film can ever be successful if that is the case. And it's not that it's bad, it's just that it's not great. The film never really lives up to the standard set by its performances. But those performances are good on their own, which is why I would recommend you see this movie.

Christopher Plummer has never won an Oscar, and if this turned out to be his first one, you wouldn't hear me complaining. That probably won't be the case, since everyone is predicting Christoph Waltz from Inglourious Basterds (who would also be a good winner), but I think this will be a memorable role in Plummer's career nonetheless. He plays Leo Tolstoy, the great Russian novelist, in this film about the last days of Tolstoy's marriage. His wife, Sofya, is played by the incomparable Helen Mirren, and she is just as fantastic here as I have ever seen her. The film's energy comes from these two, as they alternately argue bitterly and love each other passionately. They argue over Tolstoy's will; Sofya wants to assure her children will receive the inheritance from her husband's novels, but he is being persuaded by Chertkov (Paul Giamatti), his loyal Tolstoyian follower, to give his money to the Russian people.

The film also centers around Tolstoy's young assistant Valentin (James McAvoy), who is a devout Tolstoyian. He is sent to by Chertkov to take notes on everything Sofya says. McAvoy is absolutely wonderful in his role as the nervous objective bystander trying to figure out what he believes. And Giamatti is absolutely wonderful as one of the film's antagonists. For all of the discussion surrounding the performances of Plummer and Mirren, in my opinion, the supporting cast matches their brilliance.

Like I said, the problem is that there is just not as much brilliance in the direction or the screenwriting, although those aspects are certainly not bad. They're just above mediocre. The film does make some good observations about love and responsibility, but they're not earth-shattering. Still, The Last Station is worth seeing.