Viewed in
2012
Formats
HDTV
Premise
An aging Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer) and his wife (Helen Mirren) fight over how his inheritance should be divided, while family and friends take sides.
Loved
Plummer and Mirren.
Liked
Complex themes of romance and marriage.
Disliked
Shaky handheld, young couple's subplot.
Thoughts
Overall, it had excellent acting and interesting themes about romance and marriage.
Obviously with heavyweights like the resurgent Plummer and Mirren, the standard was held high, and they did not disappoint. Their chemistry reminded me of Burton-Taylor in The Taming of the Shrew and O'Toole-Hepburn in The Lion in Winter. The rest of the cast was strong, including dreamy James McAvoy and slimy Paul Giamatti. Unknowns Kerry Condon and Anne-Marie Duff were also excellent.
The film was at its best when showing the complexity of an aging, dying marriage. You could see the pair falling in and out of love on an hourly basis, as celebrity, time, mortality, human vices, and conflicting ideals pull them in all sorts of directions. Every character was multidimensional, and it was easy to understand the politics, motivations, and subtext of Tolstoy's inner circle. I also enjoyed the humorous scenes of early 20th century versions of the paparazzi.
Obviously the subplot of McAvoy and Condon's budding romance served as contrast to the bickering elderly couple. However those moments never felt as powerful nor necessary. The film also suffered from too much handheld cameras during conversation scenes.
I would recommend The Last Station for its performances and its poetic, bittersweet themes of mortality and marriage at its twilight.
