A journalist's review of some of the films showed at Telluride by the Sea. So far, the only film she gave an "A" is...you guess!

FILM 4: THE LAST STATION

Grade: A

This is the film I was hoping for - a beautifully made biopic from script to acting to production design. Helen Mirren is, well I've already gushed enough. Christopher Plummer deserves props for anchoring the film and being a calm sea to complement to her impassioned tempest. (Their chicken clucking scene is priceless.) James McAvoy is indeed the comic foil, complete with a sneezing tic when he gets nervous. I could've done without the subplot love affair with the liberated Masha (Kerry Condon), but I understand the idea of making her the one who espouses the Tolstoyan beliefs that the others (especially Paul Giamatti's oily Chertkov) merely talk about. Great actors at their peak. Just a class act by writer/director Michael Hoffman.

Fun factoid: James McAvoy is married to Anne-Marie Duff, who played Tolstoy's daughter, Sasha.

Burning question: Where's my Dostoyevsky biopic?

Crowd report: Looked sold out.


The other reviews are here.