In the early 20th Century, Lev Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer) has gone past just being a novelist and has become the leader of the Tolstoyan movement, which promotes pacifism, as well as the denouncement of material wealth and physical love. However his wife (Helen Mirren) doesn’t share his philosophy, and is worried that his followers – most notably the priggish and manipulative Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti) – who are more devoted to the Tolstoyan philosophy than even Tolstoy is, are trying to wrestle control of the family fortune away from her.
Into this situation comes young Tolstoyan acolyte Valentin Bulgarov, who Chertkov hires as Tolstoy’s private secretary. Delighted to be so close to his idol, Valentin nevertheless compromises his own ideals, not least in regards to abstaining from sex. He soon comes to see that despite what the aging Tolstoy says, he’s as much in love with the devotion to him in those around him as he is to the ideas he’s spreading, and soon Valentin find himself thrust in the middle of the problems between Tolstoy, his followers and the great writer’s life.
With acting Oscar nominations for Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren, there’s little doubt The Last Station is supremely well acted, with James McAvoy and Kerry Condon also putting in truly wonderful performances. And it’s a great setting for a movie, with a bunch of fascinating characters and a situation that promises plenty of interest. However, like some other movies based on real historical figures, the problem comes from the fact that while the people and situations may be good, the story and the way it’s told is less compelling.
The characters are all interesting, representing different philosophies and the struggle to live up to personal ideals. There’s Tolstoy, who’s the figurehead, but whose followers are far more fanatical about the Tolstoyan ideals than he is. His wife, who’s not that interested in grand ideas and just wants security for her family and what she feels is fair following decades with the writer, especially now that he’s increasingly negating their life together with his grand ideas. There’s also Masha (Kerry Condon), a strident young woman who wants to change the world and believes in free love, which sorely challenges Valentin’s vow of abstinence.
However with all this seething under the surface, the fact it’s initially dealt with through the rather tedious matter of the battle over the writer’s will, the film is interesting while never being engrossing. The Last Station could also do with explaining a bit more about the political turmoil in Russia that Tostoy’s ideas fed into, as it’s vitally important and often hinted at, but the movie sort of assumes you’re fully aware of what was happening at the end of the Tsarist era. By not talking more about it, the film itself rather underplays what was at stake, or at least what the characters believe is at stake.
It’s the difficulty many historically based dramas face, that they don’t want to depart too far from the truth, but often the truth is difficult to put into a story form that feels cohesive, and which fully explores all the issues that created a particular situation. It’s a particular problem with The Last Station, because the first half is largely about ideas and feels quite light, with Valentin entering Tolstoy’s commune and comes to know the major players, while the second half tips full tilt into melodrama, with Tolstoy and his wife splitting and the writer going off on a journey that will prove to be his last. Most of the events that in this part seem to stretch credibility did actually happen, but it feels slightly overwrought because it doesn’t quite fit with the first half.
The Last Station is never bad, but it’s never really sucks you in, a sensation which is intensified because the acting and characters are so good that it constantly feels like the movie should be making better use of them.
The picture on the Blu-ray is bright and crisp, really showing off the period detail and beautiful countryside settings of the movies. It’s undoubtedly a good looking film and HD certainly brings that out. Likewise the audio is good, although it’s not the sort of soundtrack that was ever going to give you system a workout and frighten the neighbours. Nevertheless the DTS track brings out the subtleties of audio extremely well.
On the special features front there’s only an okay interview with writer/director Michael Hoffman and a lengthy 45-minutes ‘Conversations On The Last Station’ documentary. Both are pretty good, yet also oddly dispiriting. When director Hoffman and the actors are talking about the movie, you realise what a fascinating story it is, and how so many of the things they’re most interested in about the situation don’t really come across in the film. Tolstoy really believed he was fighting for the future of Russia, and he was treated as a living saint by many, and the fight between his acolytes and his family was massive news. However The Last Station doesn’t quite balance these opposing sides, making the family drama seem a little histrionic, while full import of the Tolstoyan side never fully comes across.
Overall Verdict: Utterly superb performances and the characters are fascinating, but the film never lives up to the promise of its constituent parts.
Special Features:
Interview With Michael Hoffman
‘Conversations on The Last Station’ Featurette
Reviewer: Tim Isaac
