The Last Station

Helen Mirren is sharp and funny as Sofya Tolstoy, the long-suffering wife of the great novelist Lev. The Last Station is set in the final days of his life, as Sofia and Lev’s friend Chertkov (Paul Giamatti) clash over the best way to handle Tolstoy’s massive literary estate. Sofia would like it to go to someone worthy, like, say, Sofia. Chertkov wants to give it to the Russian people, who, according to Sofia, will just spend it on booze, whores and communism. Into this mix comes Valentin Bulgakov (James McAvoy), a virginal acolyte of Tolstoy who is sent by Chertkov to spy on Sofya. Instead, he finds her sympathetic, and then finds a naked woman (Kerry Condon) lying on top of him, which makes him change his mind about the whole virginity thing. The Last Station is reasonably funny and passably amusing, but doesn’t live up to the highbrow hype that any movie about Tolstoy is likely to carry.