Power Struggle
Every once in a while you get a movie that is based on a true story, usually something so unbelievable it can’t be true. For me though the real fun comes from figuring out what actually happened and what has become fictionalized for the film to create more drama. Well, Death of Stalin is definitely based upon true events but if you’re looking for historical accuracy or a gritty drama this is not the film for you and I’m sure you would have gathered that from watching the trailer.
So Death of Stalin follows Stalin through his last days and the craziness that entails when the political figures of Russia all start scrambling over who becomes the new Soviet leader after Stalin passes away.
First of all, there are some pretty great actors in this film who all give great performances Steve Buscemi, Jason Isaacs and Michael Palin are all in top form here and are a pleasure to watch. The film presents itself as a comedic take on these real-life events and plays on it with plenty of witty one-liners which at times can be amusing but it’s not always as funny as it tries to be. The real joy of the film comes from watching the characters backstab one another to reach the top while they struggle to obtain power as the next Soviet leader. It definitely works as a political satire and has a great ensemble but it’s hard to be invested in the story and the characters, as personally, I didn’t like any of the characters, I more enjoyed the performances from the actors which kept me interested throughout.
I don’t really have much else to say apart from I thought The Death of Stalin was good but not great. Maybe I was a little underwhelmed by it since before I saw the film I had read some early reviews that were giving it perfect scores. Don’t get me wrong though it kept me entertained throughout its runtime which is always a good thing, I didn’t necessarily walk out of it wanting to talk about it or discuss it with anyone or sing its praises. Which is a shame as I love talking about films even bad ones, but it’s one of those films that when people ask you how it was, you just simply reply with “yeah… it was good”.