The Last Station

If the Oscar nominations and subject matter have led you to believe this is a handsomely mounted and worthy – if slightly bookish – tale, you’re pretty much on the money. It’s a solid, well-acted, interesting tale – and those are its weaknesses as well as its strengths. It never surprises or excites, but there are plenty of good things in it to admire, if few to love.

The film tells of great Russian writer Lev Tolstoy’s last days, and of the titanic battle between his wife and his employees over who should own the rights to his great works once he is dead. Tolstoy is played with gravitas and dignity by Plummer, Mirren is as imperious as ever as his argumentative, stubborn wife Sofya. In the middle of their daily battles comes young idealist James McAvoy as Bulgakov, Tolstoy’s secretary, who wants to pass on the author’s message of hope and passive resistance to the outside world. McAvoy, as good as he is in Atonement, is perfect as the naive, bookish Bulgakov, who swears a vow of celibacy to work on Tolstoy’s commune.

He is thrown into confusion by Masha (Kerry Condon), a strident young woman who wants to change the world and believes in free love. Condon’s performance is perhaps the biggest revelation of all – feisty, angry and seductive all at the same time. She is one of the best things in the film.

As Tolstoy ages and becomes confused, conspirators gather in the form of Giamatti’s Chertkov, and the old writer stages one last escape to find peace with his daughter Sasha (Duff). Sofya follows him to the train station where he will meet his end.

There are two strands to the story, one – the battle for freedom and the future of the world – is fascinating, the other – the battle for Tolstoy’s will – is rather banal. The story never quite decides which strand to follow and which to abandon, and thus the tale slightly peters out. The Academy obviously saw two mature stagers doing what they do best in the Oscar nods to Mirren and Plummer, and they are very fine, but it’s the younger generation of Condon and McAvoy who really hold your attention when they are on screen. Even John Sessions is almost bearable. And just think what it would have been like if the original cast had played the leads – Meryl Streep and old Wolf Man himself, Anthony Hopkins. That would have been a scary film.

Overall verdict: A solid drama that never quite sheds its made-for-TV feel, despite the high quality of the acting on show.

Reviewer: Mike Martin