The Last Station

"The Last Station" was written and directed by Michael Hoffman. It stars Christopher Plummer ("The Sound of Music") and Helen Mirren ("The Queen"), in what are sure to be two Oscar-nominated perforances this year. The film also stars Paul Giamatti ("Cinderella Man") and James McAvoy ("Atonement"). The movie is an example of great film-making and one of the best movies in 2009. The film debuted at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado earlier this year. I was able to see it at the Music Hall, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire this weekend as part of the Telluride By the Sea Festival.

"The Last Station" is a bio-pic about the last few months of famous author Leo Tolstoy's (Christopher Plummer) life. The conflict in the movie comes from Chertkov (Paul Giamatti), a man who deeply believes Tolstoy's teaching, and Tolstoy's wife, Sofya (Helen Mirren). Both these people want to gain control of Leo Tolstoy's estate. The movie takes place years after Tolstoy finished writing books and deals with the strain on his nearly 50-year marriage. James McAvoy plays the role of Leo Tolstoy's secretary.

By far the most memorable parts of the film are the two leads. Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren are amazing in "The Last Station." These two actors have been acting for decades and their most recent endeavor is an unbelievable success. They play the roles so well. Plummer is completely convincing as the aging author and his interactions with Chertkov and Sofya are believable. He has fantastic chemistry with his wife. They feel like an actual old married couple and not a couple of actors just faking it. It is obvious that they love each other deep down, although at one point Sofya says she hates Leo and on a couple occasions asks him if he in fact loves her. Sometimes anger, frustration, and abandonment get in the way of their relationship. The two actors are able to have such range and sheer emotion in their acting - both serious and angry and sometimes lighthearted if the scene calls for it. The final scene with the two leads is especially memorable as is a scene of slight flirtation, reminiscent of when they were much younger. Sofya's intense hatred toward Chertkov is evident when she wants to know the details about Tolstoy's new will and hates the fact he and her husband have become so close recently. Chertkov is not sensitive at all to her plight, claiming he would have killed himself if he were married to her.

The cinematography in "The Last Station" is also extremely memorable. Every time characters speak the camera goes in for a close up, getting the audience up close to the focus of the scene. Several long shots are also used as the camera pulls back, giving the audience a vast area visible on screen. The film also features several tracking shots as well as occasional partially-out-of-focus frames. Lighting and shadows are also used effectively depending on the tone of the scene. These cinematographic effects and flowing camera movements make "The Last Station" a memorable film.

"The Last Station" is mainly a drama since it deals with a strain on a marriage and a fight to get the estate. However, throughout the film are several lighthearted scenes, serving as comic relief and adding to the enjoyment of the movie. The combination of drama and slight comedy work smoothly and naturally in the film. This is mainly due a strong script which was smartly written and strong in developing the characters.

Overall the pacing is good, however at times it drags on a little. Some scenes could be completely omitted as they severely take away from Plummer, Mirren, and Giamatti screen time - also known as the main reasons to even consider watching the movie in the first place. These scenes include those with Valentin, Tolstoy's secretary and Masha, some random girl he finds at what is essentially a Tolstoyan commune. They try to convince us that they are actually in love, but that is a huge lie. The relationship goes way too fast and feels about as realistic as Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in "Sleepless in Seattle" - an awful, unbelievable movie that Nora Ephron should be ashamed of. The scenes in "The Last Station" with Valentin and Masha are drawn out and unfortunately take away from the story at hand.

The movie is very artistic-feeling, so if you are not into that then avoid the movie at all costs. If you don't like Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren, Paul Giamatti, or James McAvoy also feel free to avoid the movies, because every single scene has at least one of the above mentioned people (who all give impressive performances.) A movie based on a book about the final months of Tolstoy's life may sound boring, but I didn't find that to be true and thought the acting, pacing, and everything that makes a good movie, are present here. The dialogue, characters, and camera movement kept me interested throughout the entire film. 3 1/2 stars out of 4. One of the best movies that I've seen this year, and I've seen a pretty lot.

-Joseph Sbrilli