The Last Station
Michael Hoffman
The story: Near the end of his life, Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer) creates a new religion in which he espouses egalitarianism and celibacy. His friend and fierce champion of the cause, Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti), bitterly battles Tolstoy’s wife Sofya (Helen Mirren) over his will and legacy. Valentin Bulgakov (James McAvoy) is the idealistic young man caught in the middle when he is sent by Vladimir to serve as Tolstoy’s assistant.
Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. This famous first line from Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina (1873-1877) announces the tragedy that is to follow in the novel and in this film.
After almost 50 years of marriage, Tolstoy and Sofya know exactly how to push each other’s buttons and theirs is a tumultuous relationship.
Despite being a count, he is against the concept of private property and is planning to gift his works to the public after his death.
She is bewildered by what she sees as a betrayal of his family and constantly harangues him about his new will.
While Sofya has grounds for concern for herself and her children, it is also clear that she is not an easy woman to deal with. At one point, Tolstoy chides her: “You don’t need a husband, you need a Greek chorus.”
At the same time, there is a deep and enduring connection between the two, one that extends to a playful sensuality in the bedroom.
Mirren goes from shrewish to vulnerable on the turn of a dime and has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress. She had previously won for the titular imperial, if less imperious, role in The Queen (2006).
Her sparring partner Plummer plays Tolstoy as a lovable eccentric and has got a nod for Best Supporting Actor, even though there are shades of his last role in Terry Gilliam’s fantastical adventure The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus (2009).
Working with Jay Parini’s 1990 biographical novel of the same name, director and scriptwriter Michael Hoffman also gives the viewer a fascinating look at celebrity culture circa 1910.
Tolstoy was no unknown, starving writer but a literary giant whose every move was closely photographed and chronicled by the media. His spats with Sofya, in particular, were fodder for the paparazzi mill.
For all the shenanigans and almost farcical family drama underway, The Last Station feels scattered. Its focus is all over the place as there is also Bulgakov’s burgeoning romance with the free-spirited Masha (Kerry Condon) and his divided loyalties to Chertkov, Tolstoy and Sofya to tease out.
The relationship between Bulgakov and Masha seems to be meant as a counterpoint to the one between Tolstoy and Sofya but the thinly sketched characters make the link less than compelling.
What remains powerful is seeing how love can sour and how it can bring people together as well as tear them apart.
(ST)