The Last Station is a small bittersweet film that never quite reaches the height of greatness, but it’s still a fairly good story of love. This is a film that feels like it was made in the hopes of striking gold during awards season. And while its chance of taking any Oscars home seem unlikely, it has gained some Academy recognition in nominations for Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren. And appropriately, the performances are what truly drives this film along with the rather beautiful production design and Michael Hoffman‘s direction. The script (written by Hoffman), in the end, truly is what holds it back.
The story actually doesn’t directly follow the great Russian writer/philosopher Leo Tolstoy (Plummer), but instead centers around Valentin Bulgakov (James McAvoy). Valentin is what some would call timid and a hopeless romantic. He also has nothing but admiration for Tolstoy. Valentin is hired by Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti) to get close to Tolstoy so he can keep tabs on Leo’s wife Sofya (Mirren). Tolstoy is nearing death and Cherkov is looking out for his writings while Sofya is more so focused- from what it seems- on his will and possessions. Sofya isn’t as nearly as interested in having Tolstoy’s writings being read across the world, one of the key reasons Vladimir is so weary of her. Valentin’s perception on things changes once he arrives to do his spying. He falls in love with a sweet girl named Marsha (Kerry Condon) while also witnessing the self-destructive relationship of Tolstoy and his hardened wife. He comes to recognize the true beauty and downfalls of love.
This isn’t the standard biopic that some may be expecting, but more so a portrayal of love or, more appropriately, people trying to love one another. While that sounds sappy, it never comes off as that during the film. The relationship between Tolstoy and Sofya is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. It’s a subtle fact that these two were once nothing but head-over-heels for each other. Unfortunately, after all these years they’ve lost touch with one another. The easiest way to describe their relationship would be as “dysfunctional.” As for the parallel relationship, Valentin and Marsha’s story doesn’t grasp as much emotional investment. The obvious connection between these two couples is that long ago Tolstoy and Sofya were once in their position. One day Valentin’s relationship may reach the low depths of Tolstoy’s, a saddening theme that’s slightly underwritten. The script holds back Valentin’s relationship and lacks genuine investment. The final moment between Valentin and Marsha should be a pure emotional punch of sweetness, but instead it doesn’t hold much weight.
Plummer is undoubtably worthy of the praise he’s been receiving. He’s subtle with all the sadder shades of the great author, despite having to act on the theatrical side more than once. Plummer has always had a commanding onscreen presence and here’s no different. If Plummer is forced to get theatrical here and there, then Mirren takes it a bit further since she’s written in a more comedic tone. All her dramatic scenes work perfectly fine, but in many ways she’s placed for comic relief. Fortunately, Mirren is actually quite funny and never crosses the point of ridiculousness.
McAvoy has always been the go-to guy for naive characters introduced to a new world they (nor the audience) don’t quite understand. It’s a shtick of his that has worked up until now. And while his relationship with Martha is still underwhelming, McAvoy still turns in another notable performance. It’s a quiet and reclused role that McAvoy works well with. Sadly, Giamatti is underused. He steals every scene he’s in and crafts Vladimir into a somewhat selfish and yet completely understandable and relatable character. He loves Tolstoy and his interest lies in having his works being read, a plot point that yearns for more screen time.
Hoffman has always been a director that’s reliable for solid work. This is a certainly a continuation of said quality. One area that Hoffman has always shined in is in tone. One minute there’s drama and then the next minute there’s laughter; this surprisingly never feels jarring. Many filmmakers could have had this shifting tone come off as abrupt and false, but Hoffman makes it work. He moves the film at a brisk pace where one never has time to think about this consistently shifting tone. There’s never a dull moment– a rare aspect that’s not present in most films along these lines. There’s also plenty of beautiful camerawork to keep one fully immersed. The naturally lush style is never distracting or showy, but a rather wonderful showcase for all the tremendous landscapes.
As stated before, the script is what constrains The Last Station to merely a good film. It underwrites Valentin and his romance, which is intended to be one of the driving emotional forces of the story. Despite that, there’s still enough greatness scattered throughout to make this a very enjoyable tale of love and passion.