Movie Reaction: The Death of Stalin

Formula: Russia ^ In the Loop

It's important to know what you do well. Armando Ianucci is among the best comedy writers in any country. He has a very specific skill set though. His series The Thick of It was a satire of the inner workings of the British government and the awful people who work in it. His movie In the Loop was a satire of Anglo-American politics and the awful people who work on both sides. His series Veep is a satire about the US Presidency and the awful people who work in for it. It should surprise no one that his latest film, The Death of Stalin, is a satire about the 1950s Russian government and the awful people in charge of it. Ianucci can get by with being so one-note because he's awful damn good at what he does.

The Death of Stalin has all of Ianucci's trademarks. The humor is dark. The swearing is inventive. I don't think anyone blocks a comedy scene better than him. When I say that The Death of Stalin is Veep in 1950s Russia, that isn't an oversimplification. It's high praise.

Certainly, the better versed in Russian history you are, the better you'll get all the jokes in the movie. It's not required to follow the what's going on though. I only have basic knowledge of that period. I recognize some names, know that Stalin had a lot of people killed, and that's about it. And I still followed the movie fine. That's because it's not hard to understand a power struggle. The film begins with Stalin (Adrian McLoughlin) alive long enough to set the tone of how completely and ruthlessly he ruled. Then, he has a cerebral hemorrhage. Before he's even officially dead, the ministers in his cabinet all start maneuvering to become his successor. Immediate control technically goes to Deputy General Secretary Gregory Malenkov (Jeffrey Tambor). He's incompetent though, and it quickly turns into a fight between Lavrentiy Beria (Simon Russell Beale) and Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi), who use every savvy and petty trick they can to get the upper hand. Circling around them are the likes of Stalin's adult children, Vasily (Rupert Friend) - a drunken fool - and Svetlana (Andrea Riseborough), the cocky head of the Russian Army, Georgy Zhukov (Jason Isaacs), and the other more guileless secretaries in Stalin's cabinet. It's actually pretty easy to follow everything because the details matter less than the pettiness.

I don't believe any of the major actors have worked with Ianucci before, which is shocking, considering how naturally all of them fit in this world. Tambor is a delightful goof. There's more than a few shades of Hank Kingsley in that character. Few people are able to be annoyed better than Steve Buscemi, who looks irritated by every single person he believes he's smarter than. Simon Russell Beale plays Beria as rat who knows the rules of the game as well as anyone and gets cocky about it. Friend's Vasily is a drunken mess. Jason Isaacs makes Zhukov into the most self-confident son of a bitch you'll ever meet. Andrea Riseborough's Svetlana clearly isn't built for this duplicitous world and is caught in the middle of it only because he father happens to be Joseph Stalin. Really impeccable casting.

One notable difference from other Ianucci projects is that The Death of Stalin is willing to pause occasionally to reflect on the horror of what these people are doing. Because, Stalin's Russia was pretty evil at times. He executed a lot of people. Ianucci doesn't hide that. He plays it in that darkly comedic way in which a scene is funny until it's really not, and you feel bad for laughing before. The movie is still 95% pure comedy, but be warned that there are a few sobering moments.

This is a hard film to rate. It's a very funny comedy with exactly the kind of humor that I like. I don't know if it'll work for everyone. Luckily, there are plenty of movies and shows you can use as a test to see if you'll enjoy this. If you don't like Veep, I don't imagine this will be any different. There isn't much that's cinematic about the movie. It's feels much like a long TV show. As I mentioned at the beginning. It plays to its strengths and ignores everything else. That's fine with me.

Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend