Dark, comic perfection.

Rating: 10/10 (6 December 2018)

One of the most brilliant comedies ever. As with Veep, Armando Iannucci absolutely nails this with an absurd, farcical, but weirdly historical account of the death of Stalin. Belly-laugh funny while simultaneously horrifying. I don't know how he does it. I spent years in American politics and I am embarrassed to admit that Veep is by far the most accurate political satire ever made. Death of Stalin provides the same treatment to post-war Stalinist Russia, a period that could not be more perfectly conveyed than through the lens of Iannucci's absurdist vision. And the cast is as good as it possibly gets: Steve Buscemi, Jeffrey Tambor, Jason Isaacs, Michael Palin, and the incredible Simon Russell Beale as the monstrous Laurentia Beria. All of them amazing. You should literally watch this movie 10 times and then watch it again.