Absurdist great fun

Rating: 7/10 (7 January 2019)

The Death of Stalin
This is not a bit politically incorrect-in fact, the thing that drives this movie is the understanding (and belief) that Stalin was terrible, that his cronies were terrible, and that it's all no joking matter. So what better subject for satire?
And for the first half hour, this rolicks! It doesn't sustain belly laughs all through (the second half gets more chaotic and starts to wear thin) but it is hilarious in some many parts you can't help appreciating it. The writing and acting combine to make a sharp, smart, enjoyable romp.
What about the millions of younger viewers who don't know a twig about Stalin? I think the absurdist humor will still work, if there is at least the basic sense of a bad man surrounded by power hungry graspers.
A lot has been said about Steve Buscemi's great performance-and it's great, surely-but there are several actors who really come forward. And who combine to make a band of horrible misfits. Simon Russell Beale is great as the smart insider, Beria, and Jeffrey Tambor is also great in his caricatured excess (this movie is before his fall from grace). Smaller parts grow in importance, like Olga Kurylenko's blazing strength as Maria, and Rubert Friend and Andrea Riseborough as Stalin's unpredictable son and wild daughter.
The director, Armando Iannucci, is one of my favorites for this kind of smart, fast humor (he directed "In the Loop" which I love). The writing isn't afraid to step on toes or be inappropriate, which is part of what makes it funny.
You can ask, I suppose, whether the movie makes any sense in aligning the history or making us see Stalin (and 1953) any differently. But who cares? The result is a funny movie that uses an historical moment as a silly launching point. That's all.