150 Word Review: 'The Death Of Stalin' (2017)
Back in the U.S.S.R.
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.
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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.