Director/writer Armando Iannucci is the creator of scathing TV satires like HBO’s Veep, but Death of Stalin is his cinematic masterpiece, a comedy of horrors about Communist Party lackeys and leeches.
The story: The infamous dictator kicks the bucket, and his inner circle, a clown car of backstabbing bureaucrats, races to see who can grab the most power. Panic and paranoia abound. Insults fly. Instead of a strongman, Stalin is imagined as a Cockney half-pint—a good gag. Tyrants are small men who demand big statues.
Speaking of accents, the all-star ensemble features Brits and Americans abusing each other in their natural dialects. Steve Buscemi slays as calculating realist Nikita Kruschev, and Simon Russel Beale is a sassy, sociopathic secret police chief. In one of the funniest scenes, Stalin’s men bicker over calling a doctor, but the best are incarcerated. The Soviets spent much time and effort locking up the educated.
Great review, John! The Death of Stalin is likely about to play in front of our very eyes…
'Death of Stalin' was such a nice surprise.