I know little of Leo Tolstoy beyond his most famous works. I have not read “War and Peace” or “Anna Karenina.” Like so many poseur intellectuals I speak of wanting to read them as a way of improving my standing in conversation. Tolstoy has been co-opted by many more famous impostors than I. Now, having experienced “The Last Station,” a fictionalized account of Tolstoy’s last days, I feel I should attempt a more sincere appreciation.
“The Last Station” stars Christopher Plummer as Tolstoy and Helen Mirren as his wife of 48 years, Countess Sophia. In another incarnation this film starred Anthony Hopkins as Tolstoy and Meryl Streep as the Countess. Regardless, “The Last Station” in its final form cannot be improved upon.
The relationship between Tolstoy and his wife in the last year of his life is observed by us through the eyes of Valentin (James McAvoy). Hired to be Tolstoy’s personal secretary, Valentin is really a spy for Tolstoy’s long time acolyte Chertkov (Paul Giamatti), the leader of the so-called Worldwide Tolstoyan Movement.
Chertkov suspects that the Countess is pushing Tolstoy to sell his great works to the highest bidder instead of giving them to Chertkov who plans to distribute them for free as part of the movement. Valentin, a true believer in the movement, right down to the misguided chastity pledge, which Tolstoy himself disabuses him of, is trapped right in the middle of a bitter power struggle.
Valentin’s troubles are multiplied when he meets Masha (Kerry Condon). Among the only women in the movement, Masha definitely never got the chastity pledge part; she lives the Tolstoy philosophy directly from the books and not from Chertkov’s co-opting of Tolstoy. Masha immediately falls for Valentin, whose lack of sexual experience makes him both terrified and bold.
The romance is encouraged by both Tolstoy and the Countess whose own love affair has run hot and cold for more than 40 years. Chertkov meanwhile, sees Valentin’s love as a betrayal and is concerned that Valentin has been won over to the side of the Countess.
When Chertkov arrives at the compound after years of house arrest in Moscow he immediately sets about isolating Tolstoy from the Countess and leaving Valentin even more trapped amid the struggle for the great man’s soul.
Directed by Michael Hoffman (“Restoration”), “The Last Station” is a passionate tale of lifelong love and a devotion to an idea. Tolstoy was desperate to help the dispossessed, a need exploited by Chertkov and loathed by the Countess who felt he should care for his family above all.
The wedge driven between the love of Tolstoy’s life and the ideals he so passionately defended is a deep and enduring drama driven home in the wounded soul performance of the great Christopher Plummer. In what can be fairly called the finest performance in his illustrious career, Christopher Plummer gives a lively, full breath performance as Tolstoy.
While the great man can fairly be called out for being wishy washy over his final wishes, he is not without passion in both directions and the conflicting passions are the chafing tension at the heart of “The Last Station.”
James McAvoy is an excellent stand in for us in the audience. As the innocent observer he on our behalf witnesses with wide eyes Tolstoy’s love for the Countess and his commitment to care for the poor that was part of Tolstoy’s work. When McAvoy as Valentin falls for Masha, the film adds another layer of drama and romance to an already moving and engaging film.
Kerry Condon is radiant as Masha, a free spirit who refuses to be tied down to any one’s idea of life but her own even as she has a soft spot for Tolstoy’s visionary empathy.
Helen Mirren and Paul Giamatti round out a fine ensemble cast as two people who were destined to clash. The Countess was always a woman of privilege whose status gave Tolstoy free reign to become the champion of the poor. Chertkov, on the other hand, was a peasant and perhaps a charlatan who gained a modest amount of celebrity status for himself thanks to his access to and eventual guru-like control over Tolstoy.
“The Last Station” brims with passion, tension, love and deep sadness.
The final scenes, set inside the cottage of a railroad Pullman surrounded by a coterie of reporters waiting like vultures for the news of Tolstoy’s passing, are moving for being pitched at just the right dramatic level. As the Countess waits outside in a railroad car, Tolstoy calls out for his love and Valentin’s divided soul, minus Masha, and pulled by Chertkov, radiates with grief.
It is a powerful series of scenes and one you must see and feel for yourself. “The Last Station” is one of the best movies of 2009.
BYLINE:
Sean Patrick Kernan is a film critic. Check him out at: http://www.myspace.com/number1ramjamfan.
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