Day 18- Movie 16. The Last Station (2009)

The Last Station was a very well received, critically acclaimed movie from last year. The film tells of the final days of Leo Tolstoy's life, and the battle for his property and book royalties, waged between his wife and his personal aide. I typically like these movies- the films that take a famous historical figure, and give us a look at his life and those close to him. I find these movies fascinating. I've read a few of Tolstoy's books, but I have never really taken the time to try and understand him as a human being. This film helped me to do that.

Whether you care about Tolstoy or not, the reason to see this film is because of the cast and the impressive performances they give. Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren both received Academy Award nominations for their roles as Tolstoy and his wife, respectively. Both are very, very good in their roles. I thought Plummer was better than Mirren, but they are both entertaining to watch. This is the type of film that lives and dies on the performance of its stars, and it thankfully delivers here.

The movie also features a very strong performance by James McAvoy. I'm becoming a bigger and bigger fan of McAvoy. I think he's made some terrific career choices, balancing out the action blockbusters like Wanted with these more serious, "important" movies like Atonement or The Last Station. Whether you like him or not, you have to admit the guy has some serious talent. I'm really excited to see where he goes in his career. If he keeps making good choices, I believe he will be seen as one of the greatest actors.

I enjoyed this film's story, the intimate look into the life of Leo Tolstoy, and the strong performances of the whole cast. I would give this film a 7.5/10.

One of the reasons why I love the end-of-the-year award shows (Academy Award, Golden Globes, SAG, etc.) is because they help draw attention to some of these smaller films that we might not otherwise know about. Now, I love the big summer blockbusters- that's my favorite time of the year, movie-wise. However, you can't just exist on those alone. There are so many good, smaller movies that come out every year. They are easy to overlook. However, those award shows help bring those into the public consciousness. I probably wouldn't have been as familiar with this movie if it wasn't nominated for two Academy Awards last year. It took me almost a year after that to finally see this film, but it stuck in my mind, and I was able to finally track it down. I always look forward to seeing which films emerge as award contenders, and the surprises or the unexpected ones are fun to see as well. The Last Station is one of those movies. If you haven't seen it yet, I recommend it.