Fun with Fascist Dictators
The idea of a comedy sprouting from the cutthroat power vacuum left by the death of Josef Stalin seems a bit… odd. But Armando Iannucci—the brilliant funnyman behind Alan Partridge, The Thick of It, In the Loop, and Veep—excels at finding hilarity in the heartless (and frequently foul-mouthed) people who inhabit self-devouring bureaucracies, so it’s a perfect match.
“The comedy of cruelty is rarely funnier or more brutal than when it comes from Armando Iannucci, a virtuoso of political evisceration,” said Manhola Dargis in The New York Times. “The laughs come in jolts and waves in The Death of Stalin, delivered in a brilliantly arranged mix of savage one-liners, lacerating dialogue and perfectly timed slapstick ”
Adapted from a graphic novel, the film starts with the title action, then details the aftermath, as a group of Soviet insiders jostle for the big job—Kruschev (Steve Buscemi, fabulous), who has the inside track; Malenkov (Jeffrey Tambor), Stalin’s vain doofus of a deputy; Beria (Simon Russell Beale, especially good), the terrifying head of the NKVD Security Forces; and Molotov (Michael Palin), the vapid foreign affairs minister.
Palin’s presence is perfect, since the movie has more than a passing similarity to something Monty Python might have attempted. It’s also worth noting that, thankfully, none of these actors put on a heavy, fake-Russian accent.
“From start to finish, director/co-writer Iannucci delivers an audacious and insightful and ridiculous and hilarious send-up.” —The Chicago Sun-Times