#thedeathofstalin

[auroracrystal1]

The death of Stalin is a dark comedy which is subtly making fun of dictatorship.

As someone who enjoys watching comedy, and battle of powers (GOT, Borgia, house of cards, and the first two seasons of Black Sails) it was really fun.

[mickyrider]

Blue eyes and black suit...lethal weapon!

[hidingupatreeorsomething]

The Death of Stalin review (only mildly spoilery - no plot spoilers)

It’s like watching a panto where the stage manager has used a huge picture of the gulags for the backcloth. I mean, it’s the best fucking panto you’ve ever seen, by miles, but…

So. I find it incredibly hard to know what I think of anything that has been universally praised. Whenever I find myself clutching in my sweaty little hand a ticket for a sell-out show in the crazyballs lottery that is the Edinburgh Fringe, I know it's pretty much the death knell of enjoyment for me. My expectations are sky high, my scale of evaluation way out of whack - nothing short of a virtual reality Peter Quinn spin-off show is gonna get me five-stars-excited in those conditions. And given that The Death of Stalin has had such rave reviews, that was me shafted right away. I was also very tired. So I reserve the right to change my mind on all of this, but here we go:

There are a lot of gags. Top gags. Wall-to-wall jokes, consummately delivered, brilliant ensemble playing. Andrea Riseborough is a total joy as Stalin’s daughter Svetlana, and Jason Isaacs tears the place in two from the minute he enters, chest first, oozing his obvious genetic inheritance from Lord Flashheart. His north of England accent ramps up the raucous brilliantly: In most cases the decision to have actors use their own accents is smooth, but I couldn’t quite get my head round Stalin sounding like a minor character from Lock Stock before he met his demise. Jeffrey Tambor is delicious and Rupert properly funny in his half dozen comic scenes - channeling Basil Fawlty and the polar opposite of Quinn - loud, vain and wildly out of control.

I think I’d have been better served to go in expecting a serious story with gags, rather than the "comedy of the year” all the reviews have hailed - and not just for the reasons above. This is a film about torture, rape and mass murder perpetrated by a state on its own people. When the central characters are cracking jokes in front of extras who are clearly fresh from - or in the middle of - torture, it’s like watching a panto where the stage manager has used a huge picture of the gulags for the backcloth. I mean, it’s the best fucking panto you’ve ever seen, by miles, but seeing it played out with such committed joviality in front of that backdrop was… odd, for me. I know there’s a tradition of ridiculing tyrants as a form of resistance, and I saw Armando Iannucci interviewed the day before I saw the film, talking about how some Russians risked death to pass around illicit copies of a joke book that poked fun at Stalin. But I still found it tough to reconcile.

I lived and studied in Estonia for a year or so in the mid-90s, at a point when it was still reeling in shock from the very recent Soviet era. Like the rest of the once-Soviet states, the Estonian population is still scarred by the mass deportations carried out by leaders including Stalin over many years. On 25 March each year, 20,000 candles are lit in silent memorial in Tallinn’s Vabaduse Väljak (Freedom Square). I’d be genuinely interested to know whether the Estonians think it’s baffling to laugh uproariously at something they choose to remember with silence, or whether they’ll see it as a brilliant satire. I honestly have no idea.

Anyway. The thing that bugged me most: I realise that historical stories inevitably reflect the biases of the times. But shit, I'm weary of watching film after film after film where a huge male ensemble cast get cracking lines from start to finish and the occasional woman with virtually no dialogue is allowed on screen to be raped/let out of prison/stuck on the back of a cart into exile etc. Riseborough is amazing, but even she’s only in a supporting role. Even amid the farce there were times I glazed over at the sight of a lot of middle aged men in suits talking about themselves. I know that’s the way things were then; I know there are stories from the past that deserve to be retold, requiring a predominantly male cast. But still. Every time a film is made, someone makes a choice that that’s the most important story to tell right now, those are the dozen faces that they want to give screen time for another two hours. And, as individuals, they all have good reasons for their choices. And yet somehow they all result in endless films featuring a lot of men. I’m tired of it. Even when it’s so bloody good.

[homemadelemonade74-blog]

I can’t believe The Death Of Stalin trailer saved our lives

[kazamakazukimyass]

#thedeathofstalin #movienight #movie #white #male https://www.instagram.com/p/CkOFCi3tiu8/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cinefast]

#thedeathofstalin #hilarious #satyre of #stalin #succession #war based on #fabiennury #french #comics #beria #kroutchev #malenkov #molotov #joukov https://www.instagram.com/p/CgJR7Dlsptx/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[kawaii-nai]

Watching #TheDeathOfStalin on #Netflix. This movie is crazy! Funny and appalling. 😆 (at Nai's Juke Joint) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_dUmo6DfsM/?igshid=1ruxr8l1ed5lc

[nospoilerreviews]

Take your seat for the comedy of errors that was Russian politics. Read the #NoSpoilerReviews #review of 'The Death of Stalin' online now. https://nospoilerreviews.com/2018/02/22/the-death-of-stalin/ #TheDeathofStalin #flashback #armandoiannucci Listen to No Spoiler Reviews #movie #podcast now! (bit.ly/338Tw7x) Also available on Spotify, #Apple, #Alexa, #Googlepodcasts, #iHeartRadio, #Stitcher and many more for the best #nospoiler #movie #reviews https://www.instagram.com/p/B8RCTx2o_2Z/?igshid=1mt4lp3y4bssk