Review #1,312: 'The Death of Stalin' (2017)

After spending most of the 1990s helping create the likes of The Day Today and I'm Alan Partridge - two of the greatest comedy works to have ever come out of Britain - satirist Armando Iannucci really made a name for himself with The Thick of It, a political farce centred around a bunch of politicians and spin doctors within a fictional government department going to ridiculous lengths to further their own careers and avoid the sack at the behest of an unseen prime minister. This led to the brilliant spin-off feature film In the Loop, before he would go on to tackle U.S. politics with acclaimed HBO series Veep. These groundbreaking satires now seem like they were a mere warm-up for his most ambitious project yet, The Death of Stalin, which covers the panic-stricken aftermath following the demise of one of the Soviet Union most notorious dictators, Joseph Stalin.

For the film, Iannucci has gathered together some of the finest British actors working today: those who are as comfortable with improvisation as they are with brooding monologues. Michael Palin is Molotov, the nervously chirpy minister who remained loyal to Stalin after the execution of his wife; Andrea Riseborough is Svetlana, Stalin's emotionally crumbled daughter; and Rupert Fried is the drunken son Vasily. Most impressive of all is Simon Russell Beale as the reptilian Lavrenti Beria, a man renowned for his love of rape and torture who is now desperately picking up the scraps and trying to seize power. Working against Beria is Steve Buscemi's Khrushchev, the former cabinet jester who may actually be the country's best bet. Trying to hold it all together is Jeffrey Tambor's timid Malenkov, who despite unwavering loyalty to his leader discovers his name on a death list before the big guy drops dead, and is installed as acting Premier shortly after.

There are many belly laughs to be enjoyed in The Death of Stalin, but Iannucci's approach to the subject matter often approaches horror territory. While the worst the players in The Thick of It faced was public embarrassment or a dressing down from Malcolm Tucker, here one ill-timed comment can land you with a bullet in the head. It's an incredibly scary place, where characters stroll nonchalantly through grey buildings as screams and gunshots hum in the background, and people are taken from their homes by armed officers for some imagined slight. The comedy and tragedy are incredibly well-balanced, and intensifies the absurdity of political life to genuinely concerning levels. Watching the terrible events unfold as these desperate men stutter and scurry around like rats, willing to back-stab and manipulate their colleagues without pausing for breath if it means buying themselves some extra time, is irresistible. As you would expect, Iannucci's script (co-written by David Schneider and Ian Martin) is expletive-laden and sharp as a dagger, and the entire ensemble are at the top of their game. It's unlikely The Death of Stalin will ever see a release in Russia, but someone should definitely suggest Putin adds it to his IMDb watchlist.


Directed by: Armando Iannucci
Starring: Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Jeffrey Tambor, Andrea Riseborough, Michael Palin, Paddy Considine, Jason Isaacs, Rupert Friend, Olga Kurylenko
Country: UK/France/Belgium

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,248: 'Animal Factory' (2000)

Steve Buscemi's first feature as director was Trees Lounge, an engaging drama about the bored, alcohol-drenched inhabitants of a small town, and their day-to-day interactions. For his second, Buscemi explores many of the same themes of aimlessness and having too much time on your hands, but changes the setting and tone entirely. Adapting Eddie Bunker's novel of the same name (the real-life ex-con also shares script writing duties with John Steppling), Animal Factory is about as unglamorous as prison drama gets. With a heightened sense of realism, violence and rape lurk at every turn, often happening so quickly that you barely have the chance to comprehend it. Buscemi and Bunker also find time to explore an engaging father-and-son relationship, albeit one taut with tension and distrust.

After receiving an incredibly harsh sentence for drug possession, young Ron Decker (Edward Furlong) is packed off to prison where his youthful looks quickly attracts unwanted attention. Proving himself to be completely ill-equipped to handle the danger he faces, he is taken in by the shaven-headed Earl Copen (Willem Dafoe), who teaches him the ropes and how to spot a threat. A man of little physical prowess, Earl has risen to a position of authority by using his background in law to improve the living and working standards of his fellow inmates. Surrounded by his gang of trusted bruisers (including Danny Trejo, Mark Boone Junior, and The Wire's Chris Bauer), Earl promises to protect the vulnerable Ron. Pondering Earl's true intentions, Ron at first keeps the smiling convict at arm's length, until a bond is formed that just may help the young offender to make it out alive.

By shaping the drama in the most unsensational way imaginable, Buscemi adds the necessary grit to Bunker's knowing words, with many of Bunker's novels taking inspiration from his own time in the slammer. Performances impress across the board, as you would expect from an ensemble taking direction from such a seasoned pro (who also appears). In particular, there are memorable roles for Mickey Rourke, playing Furlong's motor-mouthed, transvestite cell-mate, and, of all people, Tom Arnold, who is unnervingly convincing as a predatory rapist with his eye on Ron. But the film belongs to its two leads. Dafoe brings extra layers to his somewhat sensitive gang leader, and Furlong, one of many promising young actors who emerged in the 90s to disappear into the ether, is particularly effective as the protagonist. Changing his behaviour to suit his surroundings, we see the prison sculpt him into the type of career criminal the system's suppose to prevent. While the matter-of-fact approach prevents it from generating any real momentum - despite an attempted prison-break climax - Animal Factory is quietly powerful in small moments.


Directed by: Steve Buscemi
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Edward Furlong, Danny Trejo, Mark Boone Junior, Seymour Cassel, Mickey Rourke, Tom Arnold, John Heard, Chris Bauer
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #732: 'Fargo' (1996)

The Coen Brothers' screw with the audience from the get-go with their 1996 Best Picture nominee Fargo, widely considered their finest work amongst a filmography that can be compared to that of any of the greats. Claiming this to be based on a true story when it is in fact anything but, the Coen's cement Fargo's twisted and now highly recognisable quirkiness from the first second, only for us to transported into this strange and oddball world of funny accents, eternal snowfall, wood-chippers and kinda-funny-lookin' criminals. In fact, the movie is not even set in Fargo at all. We glimpse it briefly before moving onto Brainerd, Minnesota, where the tremors of a dangerous arrangement are played out with violence and greed.

Car salesman Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy), in a desperate attempt to make some quick cash to fund a real estate deal, hires two hitmen - Carl (Steve Buscemi) and Gaear (Peter Stormare) - to kidnap his wife and split the ransom money paid by her wealthy father Wade (Harve Presnell). With the deal arranged, Jerry makes a final plea to Wade for investment, only for Wade to accept. Jerry tries to call the kidnapping off, but it is too late, and soon enough Carl and Gaear are leaving a trail of murders behind them. With a triple shooting at Brainerd that leaves a state trooper dead, pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) is called in to investigate the crime spree.

What the Coen's, cinematographer Roger Deakins and music scorer Carter Burwell created with Fargo is a film like no other, where a giant statue of a lumberjack carrying an axe looms over the film like some unconventional deity, and the characters are equally as mocked as they are warmly captured. With their small-town ways and strange, chirpy Swedish-American accents, not many of the characters in Fargo seem to notice the darkness that has crept into their town, and seem content with planning fishing trips, shuffling along the buffet table, or discussing the weather. The accent works like a character itself, a portal into these character's lives. You've most likely quoted "you betcha!" or "oh, geez," in homage at some point if you've seen this movie before.

Fargo also treads dangerously along the black comedy line, somehow making a man being blended through a wood-chipper hilarious and throwing us off course entirely with Marge's bizarre and uncomfortable catch-up drink with lonely friend-from-school Mike (Steve Park). But the Coen's have always done that, and probably never more successful than with this. The cruelty that the Coen's inflict on the rather loathsome characters seems somehow just, and offer a truly loveable character in Marge, one of the Coen's greatest creations, and wonderfully performed by the Oscar-winning McDormand. This is a masterpiece, a defining moment for Joel and Ethan Coen, who have created a haunting, strange, dark and very funny noir, and possibly the greatest film of the 1990's.


Directed by: Joel Coen
Starring: Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, Harve Presnell, Peter Stormare
Country: USA/UK

Rating: *****

Tom Gillespie

Review #666: 'Monsters University' (2013)

It's hard to believe that it's been 12 years since the original Monsters, Inc. graced the screens and introduced the world to a green, one-eyed motormouth named Mike Wazowski and a loveable furry giant called James P. 'Sully' Sullivan. Although it was far from Pixar's best effort, Inc was charming and a surprisingly moving little film that made a killing at the box office. So why the wait for a sequel? Cars 2 (2011) aside, Pixar have always prided themselves on putting story above all else, so perhaps the writers simply could not come up with something solid enough to warrant another outing for Mike and Sully. But now Disney are in charge, I guess that if there's money to be made, they'll make sure it's made.

Before the events of Monsters, Inc., Mike (Billy Crystal) is a young monster with only one goal in his life - to become a top scarer at Monsters, Inc. The only problem is that he's not scary. Inspired by an encounter on a school trip, Mike studies and studies until he is enlisted in Monsters University, the best place for any budding scarer to learn their craft. Sully (John Goodman) enlists too, with a legendary family name and a clearly formidable appearance. Sully's lethargic approach to study annoys Mike, and a fallout between the two leads them to be kicked out of the class by the terrifying Dean Harscrabble (Helen Mirren). With seemingly no hope, Mike sees the upcoming Scare Games as the chance to prove himself to Harscrabble, who agrees to let him back in if he triumphs, only he has to team up with Sully to make up the numbers.

The main problem with Pixar's output in the last few years is that they seem to be slowly moving away from making movies that please adults in equal amounts to children. Toy Story 3 was their last great movie and that was three years ago. Cars 2 and last year's Brave were mediocre efforts, certainly beautiful to behold but relatively hollow inside. Much of the same can be said for Monsters University, as although it's nice to see these characters again, it lacks that Pixar touch that led to so many of their films to now be considered classics of the genre. We are left with not much more than a collection of wonderfully constructed set-pieces based around a thin plot that we all know the result of anyway.

Of the new additions, Charlie Day's Art and Helen Mirren's Dean Harscrabble steal the film, the former a truly bonkers creation and the latter given some quality thespian backing. We also get the welcome return of Steve Buscemi's Randy, who's downturn we get to witness thanks to a very clever moment. But ultimately, Monsters University's biggest problem is that it's just not that funny. The best moments are seen in the trailer (such as the snail monster trying not to be late for class on his first day), and the best aspects of college life can't be played with as they involve alcohol, drugs or boobs, a no-no even for Pixar. So we are left with a very pretty film (possibly the finest animation-wise to date) full of breathtaking set-pieces, but one that lacks that special touch I came to love from Pixar and one I am becoming reluctantly resigned to never seeing again.


Directed by: Dan Scanlon
Voices: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Peter Sohn, Joel Murray, Sean Hayes, Dave Foley, Charlie Day, Alfred Molina
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie