‘The Death of Stalin’
With The Death of Stalin, Armando Iannucci (Veep) makes his boldest stab yet at satirizing figures in power, depicting the 1953 crisis of power that followed the titular death of Soviet premier Joseph Stalin. In his trademark way, Iannucci depicts a circle of cranky, opportunistic, thoroughly amoral members of the Central Committee — played by the likes of Steve Buscemi, Michael Palin, Jeffrey Tambor, and Simon Russell Beale — all of them quickly scrambling to make sure they have a seat when the music stops playing. There is a darkness around the edges of everything that happens here, befitting the fact that there are decades of bloody history that are impossible to sweep away. It feels jarring, at first, to see the actual work of bloody violence happen inside what we’ve come to feel as the safety of Iannucci’s vulgar playhouse. Which makes it all the more impressive that The Death of Stalin is as funny as it is. It’s not the pillar-to-post festival of quotable insults that In the Loop was, but the steady burn of shameless scheming and posturing really delivers. In particular, Rupert Friend and Andrea Riseborough really shine as Stalin’s stricken, out-of-their-depth children.