Death of Stalin: Fun times in Soviet Russia

Rating: 8/10 (14 March 2018)

A black comedy is a hard thing to get right; you have to firstly find the fun in dark subject matter and then convince your viewer/player/reader that what they are seeing is funny and can be laughed at. In the worst case scenario you would be considered an edgy unfunny hack that does not understand anything about the subject matter being tackled. That is not the case with this movie fortunately.
Death of Stalin starts in 1953 with Russian leader Joseph Stalin suffering a heart failure and dying, it is very sad (not really) and hilarity ensues with a power struggle between statesman Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi) and leader of the NKVD Lavrentiy Beria (Simon Russell) all the while trying insure the other does not get too much power and trying to stay alive.
Please do not think that Death of Stalin does not gloss over the atrocities of Stalin's rule any more than it does ignore the violence that occurred after Stalin dies. I would say that it respectively balances the humour with the horror; it is able to use some of the terror the NKVD used on Russian citizens for comedy but also knows when to behave seriously. It gets rid of that tonal problem that affects so many black comedies and horror comedies. Director Armando Iannucci and crew should be congratulated for it.
The acting is extremely good, they look the part and are convincing in their roles, the little detail of letting the cast speak with British and American accents is a strange yet somewhat brilliant, and it builds a surreal feel to it that makes everything just a little bit funnier. But one standout presence in this film is Jason Isaacs's performance as Georgy Zhukov, the moment he enters you know you are in for a ride, he is easily brings the most laughs as well has the most memorable quotes in the movie, he is the best.
The film has a loose relationship with historical accuracy, it does mostly follow the core events of the power struggle (if you know anything about Russian history after Stalin you know who is going to win) but it is still compelling enough for even someone like me, a student of history to enjoy and remain focused for it's entirety. The pacing is smooth and the jokes come in fast and well.
The trouble with comedy movies is that there is a lot of spoilers in regards to jokes that I cannot talk about, it is all well and good to say that the writing is good or that it is a great comedy without going into any detail about how the jokes work or why this film is a satire on the inherent silliness of the communism and dictators. I hate that I cannot go into more depth with this movie. I would recommend that you watch it for yourself; it is well worth the price of admission.