Review: The Last Station

It seems like an eternity since I've reviewed a movie here on Magic Lantern. For that matter, it really has been an eternity since I've reviewed anything at all. I suppose a mixture of loneliness and a holiday mindset has let to a disinterest in thinking critically about anything I read or watch. That and the fact that I miss my laptop dreadfully. It's simply not inviting to sit on this cold, hard chair in the living room in front of this imposing, oversized iMac Steve insisted on getting for any longer than I absolutely have to.

But I digress. So, The Last Station. The film tells of the final years of iconic writer Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer), and his struggle to balance his considerable wealth and fame with his commitment to live a life free of material things. His wife Sofya (Helen Mirren) is resentful of her husband's cult following and fears that he will sign away all the rights to his works. A young Tolstoyian named Valentin Bulgakov (James McAvoy) is hired on as Tolstoy's secretary, and soon wins the trust of both the writer and his wife; inevitably, Bulgakov's loyalty is torn between them, as he attempts to come to terms with exactly what he believes philosophically speaking.

I understand the protagonist of The Last Station is meant to be Bulgakov, but this movie is really all about Plummer and Mirren. As soon as I caught a hint of the amazing chemistry between these two actors on the Oscar red carpet earlier this month, I was expecting something truly amazing from this movie. The two definitely capture the larger than life essence I imagine Tolstoy and Sofya would have possessed. The stormy passion between them is irresistible, and completely makes this movie.

I suppose that begs the question: does the film then fall short of what it was intending to do (i.e. portray a young man's coming of age, so to speak)? 

I really don't think so. McAvoy was also excellent in this movie, and somehow I don't think it would have have felt right if Plummer and Mirren had been more peripheral. It's kind of a different way of presenting a story, but it works as far as I'm concerned.