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The Last Station

The Last Station (2009)

September. 04,2009
|
6.9
|
R
| Drama Romance

A historical drama that illustrates Russian author Leo Tolstoy's struggle to balance fame and wealth with his commitment to a life devoid of material things. The Countess Sofya, wife and muse to Leo Tolstoy, uses every trick of seduction on her husband's loyal disciple, whom she believes was the person responsible for Tolstoy signing a new will that leaves his work and property to the Russian people.

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Reviews

Odelecol
2009/09/04

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

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Gutsycurene
2009/09/05

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

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Juana
2009/09/06

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

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Scarlet
2009/09/07

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

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jb_campo
2009/09/08

Wow, I loved The Last Station (2009) which I plucked off the shelf at my library. This was a real gem of a movie in all phases.The story is terrific, much more interesting than I thought. Tolstoy (Christoper Plummer) was the world-famous author of War and Peace and Anna Karenina. In fact, he was a Count in Russia, treated like royalty. But his writings and the Tolstoyan movement preached abstinence of possessions and sex, and that all people should be treated equally.The problem is that Tolstoy, as he admitted multiple times in the movie, was not a very devout Tolstoyan himself, having fathered 13 children while living in a luxurious castle with every human pleasure he wanted. Moreso than for him, his wife Sofya, the Countess (Helen Mirren), likes the possessions they have earned, and knows all about Tolstoy's real history, since they'd been together almost 50 years.Enter a few other characters like Valentin (James McAvoy) as his young, exuberant, celibate Secretary, Masha (Ann Marie Duff)a rebellious Tolstoyan living in the community, and mostly Cherkov (Paul Giamatti), kind of like Tolstoy's consigliere from the Godfather films, who is driving the expansion and business side of Tolstoy's movement.The major thrust of the story is the constant conflict between the triangle of Tolstoy vs Sofya his wife, who is fighting against Chertkov, who tries to get Valentin involved as his "spy" of the inner Tolstoy circle. The push and pull, back and forth, from beginning to end is constant, and annoying. I found myself screaming at them to just let it go and stop whining like little spoiled brats, but I guess they could not.Great story, but the real gem is the acting. Christoper Plummer is world famous and he delivers a Tolstoy who is honest, cynical, driven, and yes loving. He loves Sofya very much. Helen Mirren is absolutely over the top fantastic as Countess Sofya, delivering all the right emotions of knowing the real Tolstoy, expressing unbridled emotion at times in so many ways. It made me wonder whether the real Countess has some bipolar disease, or whether she just did not want to see people act as vultures around her aging husband, picking apart his will and his belongings to their own profit.What I really like about this film is that they all spoke straight English. No one pretended to put on Russian accents. There were no scenes with sub-titled Russian. Simple. Sure the costumes were culturally correct, as was the setting. Apart from one scene where Mirren held up a paper with Russian characters, the Director stayed away from this distraction.The Director, Michael Hoffman, is not that experienced or well known. However, he also wrote the screenplay, so he obviously knew the story and what he wanted to achieve. He basically let this talented group live the story, and guided it to a well-oiled finale.The one area that was so-so was the cinematography, which was nothing special because most of the scenes took place in two areas - the Tolstoy castle home and the village community, with some fleeting scenes in Moscow.Overall,the Last Station is a terrific movie, with an interesting story, and phenomenal performances by Mirren and Plummer. This one should be on your must-see list. Don't miss this stop - Enjoy.

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lampic
2009/09/09

Very interesting peek into literary giant's life and his lesser-known domestic troubles that completely lies on the shoulders of strong actors - it looks very much like stage drama but in fact it is adaptation from a novel. Director Michael Hoffman does his best to show off beautiful locations in Germany and Russia, however the main dialogues happens always indoors, so there is a certain "staginess" which in itself its not bad - specially since we have actors of this caliber. Both Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren were either awarded or nominated for awards on international film festivals for their roles of Leo Tolstoy and his wife Sofya, deservedly so: they completely bring back to life two people who lived, loved and fought for 48 years side by side, while creating some of the world's greatest novels together. Like probably for most of the people, their marriage was full of happiness, laughter, frustrations and compromises - strong personalities who needed each other and the movie shows fascinating interaction between them as they fight about publishing rights that might pass into public domain (Tolstoy's well-intended but somehow clumsy and selfish idea, considering his wealth should provide his family estate with comfortable life after his death). There are lots of hyenas and vultures around, excellent Paul Giamatti being just one of the many amongst them - and young secretary (James McAvoy) whose romance with free-spirited Russian girl reflecting passion between elderly Tolstoy couple. The character of this young, enthusiastic and open- hearted secretary is well-acted, though his initial naivety slowly started to go on my nerves, where towards the end of the movie I find him so annoying (he is aware of all the backstage manipulations but does absolutely nothing to prevent them or to help anybody) that I started to argue with the movie. Yes, I remember what it was to be young and unsure, painfully willing to please everybody and to tremble in front of authority but even than I was opinionated and probably more prone to fight for the right thing than today - its young people who are ready to die for their beliefs, so I just wanted this secretary to show some guts and fire, instead of being innocent, passive bystander. All the best about Plummer and Mirren, though. Whatever they do - when they argue, throw the plates, laugh or make love, they are joy to watch. "You don't need the husband, you need a Greek chorus" as angry Tolstoy scorns his wife.

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phoenix 2
2009/09/10

The movie presents us with the last years of Tolstoy's life and his relationship with his wife, Sofia. The film it supposed to be historical, but it has few historical facts in it. It focuses more on Sofia's character, her relationship with her husband and his friend, who wants to alter Tolstoy's will so that the copyrights of the books won't go to his wife, but the Russian people. Apart from that, there is the romance between Tolstoy's secretary and a young girl from his community or Tolstoyans. The insistence on the presentation of love in all it's forms and the continuous talking about sex is getting tiring after a while, and while Helen Mirren is fantastic in the role of Sofia, the movie strays of the main idea and focuses on the love between the two young people. Other than that, the rest of the scenes are endlessly boring. So, only because of the performances, I am giving the movie 4 out of 10.

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kimi_layercake
2009/09/11

"The Last Station" is a historical drama that illustrates Russian author Leo Tolstoy's struggle to balance fame and wealth with his commitment to a life devoid of material things. Given a limited release, this movie never received the accolades it deserved.Cast wise, a hub of talent at work. Christopher Plummer depicts the titular character with such devotion and authority that a picture of Leo Tolstoy stay etched in our mind just as depicted on screen. Helen Mirren is the true igniter of this movie with her splendid performance as Tolstoy's wife whose conflicts with her husband over the impact of Tolstoy's philosophy on their family possession is brilliantly showcased by Mirren. James McAvoy is absolutely charming in his role of Tolstoy's assistant. Also competent is Paul Giamatti, a devoted scholar of Tolstoy's teachings."The Last Station" strength lies in every aspect of its production. The perfect Casting, subtle Storyline, appropriate Running Time, amazing Direction and Screenplay etc are top-drawer. It's arduous to find something too regrettable about the movie to be mentioned.Overall, "The Last Station" is a wonderful depiction of the most celebrated Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy. To watch great talents at their best is an experience, but coupling the above with an insight into a great personality is a blessing.My Verdict: 8/10

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