"The Death of Stalin" - A Brilliant, Dark and Raunchy Political Comedy

Rating: 9/10 (2 July 2018)

The Death of Stalin is stupid and dark. It knows that it's stupid and dark, which just adds to its brilliance. Armando Iannucci is a genius, and he really shines in making such a raunchy, yet brilliant picture. It always contrasts the violence and disgust of Russia with the comedy and bleak humor of the council, but never downplays either of them. It follows a large council of Russian officials fighting for power after the general secretary, Stalin, dies from a cerebral hemorrhage.
This film flaunts itself as a ultra-dark comedy. The officials are all terrible people, but the villains are also terrible, so in a brilliant twist, Iannucci leaves you wondering who to root for. Even the main character is an awful, terrible character who uses human lives and destruction as a shield and uses death as a device to blame other things on other people. He's a control freak with a witty personality, but we still like him.
Steve Buscemi was wonderful in the role of Khrushchev, and made the character so funny and likable. Simon Beale was Beria, who was the general 'villain'. He was hilarious, and he was very intimidating. Both Rupert Friend and Andrea Riseborough were great, and really did play off each other like quarreling siblings. Jason Isaacs has got to be the funniest character however. He's absolutely hilarious in his mannerisms and his joking nature. A standout performance by Jeffrey Tambor was presented too. He plays Georgy Malenkov, the new premier, and is very funny in his ineptitude. Other perfect performances were presented by Adrian McLoughlin, Ogla Kurylenko, Paul Whitehouse, Paul Chahidi, Dermot Crowley and James Barriscale
If you want a rousing experience with fabulous performances, black comedy, and great and memorable scenes, this is a must see. I highly recommend it to anyone. 9 out of 10!