Ianucci's dark farce on the last days of Stalin

Rating: Null/10 (12 March 2018)

In the first moments of Armando Ianucci's DEATH OF STALIN it blows past satire into being an out and out farce. Ianucci is best known for creating HBO's Veep as well as his scathing 2009 movie IN THE LOOP. Both have their farcical elements, but STALIN takes it a step further in Ianucci's take on the last days of the Russian tyrant in 1953.
The fine cast that Ianucci has assembled doesn't even try to mask their native accents with the mostly British cast mouthing all their dialogue is seemingly the most exaggerated way possible, including Paddy Considine and an always welcome Michael Palin (his inclusion in the cast brings to mind not only Monty Python, but, also Gilliam's BRAZIL). American actors Steve Buscemi and Jeffrey Tambor do the same. In a perverse touch, only Olga Kurylenko sounds out of place using her natural voice! Based on a play of the same name, and having begun production over three years ago, Ianucci couldn't have intended all of the resonances with today's situation with Russia and the West (although it was certainly on that path). Predictably, Putin has banned the movie from being shown in the country where it is set.
While it can hardly be termed an accurate portrayal of the events surrounding Stalin's passing, it gets enough correct to give it a ring of truth. More importantly, it does so with some rich humor, that however broad, also lands some direct hits. How amusing one finds it will likely depend not only a suspension of disbelief, but, also if one can see the absurdity of the comedy amidst the very real and nasty history of the Stalin regime. Knockabout buffoonery often plays side by side with images of political prisoners being rounded and up and even killed. Were it not for Ianucci's deft writing and directing, and the large talented cast, it indeed could be deemed distasteful. But, then again, shouldn't great humor be a bit dangerous? In the end, STALIN isn't as successful as IN THE LOOP. The targets can be vague, and parts of it descend into burlesque with more than a few bits falling flat. But, overall, DEATH OF STALIN is another darkly witty entry by Ianucci.

P.S. SPOILERS
Again, STALIN was begun three years ago, but, it's hard not to draw parallels between Putin and a combination of Beria (Simon Russell Beale) and Zhukov (Jason Isaccs), with a nod towards the eventual victor in the struggle in Khrushchev (Buscemi). And, if it's a bit of stretch to associate Malenkov (Tambor) to President Trump, he's certainly a stand in for the toothless Medvedev.