Last Station (15) **** (From Thisisdorset)

Last Station (15) ****

11:03am Friday 19th March 2010 in

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IT’S easy to appreciate creative genius, but it must be hell to live with it.

Based on the novel by Jan Parini, The Last Station is a love story set during the final year of Russian writer Leo Tolstoy’s life, focusing on the terrible strain borne by his wife, the Countess.

Unable to live together under the same roof without descending into spiteful bickering, yet unwilling to live apart because of their deep love, the elderly couple plays out these final months against a backdrop of political intrigue.

See the Related Link below to get film times for Last Station

In truth, were it not for Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren’s Oscar nominations as Best Actor and Best Actress, Michael Hoffman’s history lesson could have bypassed the big screen and debuted on DVD.

This is a handsome costume drama with a fleeting sex scene to set pulses racing.

The tiny railway station at Astapovo provides a suitably cold setting for the characters’ final moments together, when Sofya’s frustrations with Sasha boil over and the Russian people bid farewell to a literary titan.

Grainy, black and white footage of the real Tolstoy and Countess, and the public outpouring of love and grief at Astapovo, give us pause for reflection over the end credits.

See it at the Mowlem