Are You Talkin’ To Me?
A Film column by Jamie Hill
Armando Ianucci is a bit of a hero of mine.
As one of the most consistently funny writers in the UK for many years giving us Alan Partridge, The Thick of It and The Day Today his eye for the ridiculousness in life is second to none.
In recent years his skill has made the crossing across the pond with the superlative film In The Loop and the fantastic Veep.
His comedy is always politically insightful - a reminder that although these people are in power they’re about as clueless as the rest of us.
With Veep and In The Loop he was able to give us real insight into the White House’s power struggles as we dealt with the vanity and lack of reality that most involved posessed.
So it was only a matter of time before he tackled something no comedic writer has ever attempted before… Stalin. Or in reality the lack of a Stalin and the power vacuum his death created in Russia and the shenanigans those in the upper circle went through to try and fill the space all the way back behind the Iron Curtain in 1953.
So he’s gone from The White House to the Kremlin and brought along one of the most comedic casts ever assembled for the cinematic ride in The Death of Stalin.
You’ve got the ever excellent Jeffrey Tambor as Malenkov, Steve Buscemi as Khrushchev, Paul Whitehouse as Anastas Mikoyan and Michael Palin as Vyacheslav Molotov.
And from the trailer, which was just released before print deadline, this looks like it’s going to be a riot especially with Jason Isaacs on fine form as Georgy Zhukov.
With things looking ridiculous in the White House nowadays proving it’s beyond satire, it’s about time we had something to divert us away from that idiotic reality to see that things can be as equally ridiculous in Russia.
Unfortunately it’s set in 1953 so we won’t be glimpsing the bare-chested antics of that current political behemoth Vladimir Putin.
But there’s always next time if Armando ever turns his hand to Kremlin The Loop.
The Death of Stalin is released on October 20.
