The Last Station Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

The Last Station Blu-ray Movie Review

All aboard for another quality Blu-ray release from Sony.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 28, 2010

Everything that I know...I know only because I love.

Love -- and all the joys and pains that come with it -- is the central theme of The Last Station, a rich, pleasant, and splendidly played biopic of acclaimed Russian Novelist Leo Tolstoy's (Christopher Plummer, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus) final months. A historical drama that looks at the sometimes funny, sometimes touching, but in some way always turbulent last year of the War and Peace and Anna Karenina author, The Last Station builds its story through the lens of both long-lasting and newfound love, as well as a less-tangible but no less meaningful-to-the-story love of ideals. The Last Station dedicates itself to an examination of the detrimental effects of fame, fortune, and finagling as they collide with life and love, the picture telling the story of the Tolstoy's long-standing relationship built on impenetrable love but ultimately challenged by an outside world shaped in large part by the longtime companionship and collaboration between writer husband and supportive wife.

Someday your beard will be as great (and gray!) as mine.

Russia, 1910. Acclaimed novelist Leo Tolstoy is entering the final year of his illustrious life. His novels have inspired a world and made him a wealthy man, but the downside is that he's a worldwide celebrity hounded by a demanding press, not to mention that he's surrounded by forces both internal and external demanding his time and attention in an effort to separate him from his wealth once he's passed on. One one side is Tolstoy's family; his wife Sofya (Helen Mirren, The Queen) believes she and the couple's children should enjoy the fruits of the writer's labor and live a secure and comfortable life after his passing. Her arch nemesis: Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti, Lady in the Water), a ranking member of the Tolstoyan movement that advocates celibacy, pacifism, and the distribution of wealth to the less fortunate. Chertkov wants to make sure that Leo is leaning in his direction and not listening to the ramblings of his wife; to do so, he hires a young Tolstoyan, Valentin Bulgakov (James McAvoy, Becoming Jane), to serve as Tolstoy's personal secretary but also to, in essence, spy on the family and keep Chertkov apprised of Sofya's scheming. Valentin finds himself caught in the middle of a high-stakes game with untold wealth, the future of a family, and the fate of a movement playing out in front of him. Meanwhile, Valentin's own faith in the Tolstoyan movement is challenged when he meets the young Masha (Kerry Condon) whose sexuality and attraction towards him could lead him to reconsider his and the movement's long-held beliefs.

The Last Station is almost entirely a product of its cast. The story's certainly sound, the production values estimable, the script capable, and the direction fine, but make no mistake, this is an actor's movie. Plummer, Mirren, Giamatti, and McAvoy turn the picture from bland biopic to engaging entertainment that positively brings to life a collection of characters in a way few other pictures manage. Whether the audience is familiar with Tolstoy or not is of no consequence; The Last Station swallows its audience into a world that's positively enthralling not necessarily because of the intricacies of the actions within it, but in the way the actors sell the situations and bring to vivid life a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the inner-workings of a powerhouse literary figure in the years before the Russian revolution. Plummer and Mirren make for one of the best screen couples in years. Their chemistry is palpable and their relationship genuine; whether they accurately capture the look, feel, mannerisms, and idiosyncrasies of the Tolstoys seems, in this case, irrelevant next to the command they demonstrate in the way they play the roles and sell the story as-is, both of which they do splendidly and to the tune of Oscar nominations for both.

Mirren and Plummer frame the picture's underlying themes of love -- its steadfastness and its uncountable variables -- marvelously. Though the picture is one of two loves -- one aged and refined, one fresh and uncertain -- it's the Tolstoy's relationship that defines the movie's themes. Theirs is a love formed of the bonds that can't be broken, even when they're strained to their limits. No matter the pressures -- the chaos of fame; the questions of loyalty; the doubts of integrity; the anger that stems from personal, political, and philanthropic differences; the uncertainty of the future; and the absence of forthright communication -- the love remains, at least in some manner, as it's pushed to its boundaries by external forces with other than the couple's ultimate well-being as the objective. What is it that defines the relationship? What keeps it together, what threatens to tear it apart? Can it survive the strains of fame, fortune, and spousal disagreement? The picture's secondary relationship that focuses on Tolstoy's new secretary Valentin -- who is himself, like his idol, being pulled in opposite directions as he falls into a chance love -- serves, perhaps, as something of an answer. Valentin's is a romance built on honesty as he bumbles and stumbles into the arms of a woman that accepts him as he is even though she has eschewed that in which he believes, allowing him to see the tit-for-tat between Sofya's camp and Vladimir's camp from a perspective that's more balanced and not wholly influenced by his hero worship, which in turn allows the audience to better understand Leo himself, who himself seems unwilling to live as he preaches. In essence, Valentin is a younger but not necessarily spryer version of Leo Tolstoy who comes into the story with great purpose and vision but who can neither ignore the allure of passion nor dismiss the positives of love once he's entwined himself into a relationship that's counter to everything he believed before entering Tolstoy's inner-circle.

The Last Station Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sony grants The Last Station a scrumptious 1080p Blu-ray transfer that accentuates the film's lavish cinematography. Colors are, perhaps, the transfer's most impressive element; the many outdoor scenes about the Russian countryside dazzle with an array of natural green hues that bring the environment to sparkling life. Even the interior scenes, which are generally colder and far less vibrant, find themselves nicely represented on Blu-ray with no absence of clarity of color. Detailing is strong, too; wrinkles and facial hairs seem so real that only the actors' make-up artists know for sure, while both natural and manmade elements -- tree bark, wood grains, cut stone, split wood, and seams in clothing -- offer a tremendous amount of natural texture and remain sharp and defined, even down to the smallest element. An outdoor picnic in chapter three is possibly the film's strongest, with bold but natural colors, detailing, and a depth of field that must be seen to be believed; it's a reference-quality scene in every sense of the term. The print is blemish-free and accentuated by a thin layer of grain that gives The Last Station a wonderful film-like texture. Only slight banding mars an otherwise pristine Blu-ray transfer from Sony.

The Last Station Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Last Station pulls onto Blu-ray with a marvelous and all-encompassing DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The track's most prominent feature, even aside from its pinpoint clarity, is the constant and natural surround elements. The track delivers a consistently mesmerizing series of environmental ambience that brings the picture's locales to splendid life, particularly the many outdoor scenes that become awash in the sounds of chirping birds, blowing winds, and rustling leaves. This is truly one of the finest tracks yet in terms of creating a pleasing and natural atmosphere that not only seems to make the speakers melt away but virtually eliminates the very boundaries of the soundstage, transporting the listener to the beautiful world of 1910 Russia. The track also handles the occasional potent element superbly; a train rumbles through the listening area on several occasions with a heft and clarity that are both second-to-none, with tight, rumbling bass and seamless imaging that allows the train to roll straight through the home theater with a throwback elegance. The picture's score, courtesy of Sergei Yevtushenko, seems effortless, playing as spacious, clean, breezy, and supported by a palpable but never overwhelming surround support structure. Rounded out by splendidly clear dialogue reproduction, The Last Station is a sonic winner on Blu-ray and proof-positive that even Dramas can stand toe-to-toe with the best Action movie soundtracks when blessed with a superb sound design and the proper Blu-ray treatment.

The Last Station Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Last Station's Blu-ray release delivers several extras, chief among them a pair of audio commentary tracks. The first features Actors Christopher Plummer and Helen Miren that's not so much nuts-and-bolts technical as it is free-spirited and well-rounded; the actors only appear intermittently through the film, but when they're there they speak on its structure, the characters they play, the work of their fellow actors, the elements of the script, and more. Track two is the more traditional of the pair, with Director Michael Hoffman speaking on the life of Tolstoy, his attraction to the project, the work of the actors, the picture's structure, the process of the shoot, and much more. The Missed Station (480p, 7:42) delivers a series of bloopers from the shoot. A Tribute to Christopher Plummer (480p, 18:43) is a piece from the 2009 AFI Fest that features the actor responding to a series of questions both personal and professional. Also included is BD-Live functionality; MovieIQ connectivity; a collection of seven deleted scenes (480p, 12:29); The Last Station's theatrical trailer (1080p, 2:05); and additional 1080p trailers for Mother and Child, Chloe, Get Low, Micmacs, The Runaways, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The White Ribbon, A Prophet, The Secret in Their Eyes, and Please Give.

The Last Station Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If The Last Station were about Leo Tolstoy some 20 years before his death rather than one, the movie wouldn't be called The Last Station, but if the writer's final months as portrayed herein are any indication, it might very well look and feel sort of like those "the most interesting man in the world" commercials. One can't help but get the vibe that at least a part of Christopher Plummer's portrayal of Tolstoy is maybe derived from those commercials, but taken, of course, to the point when the most interesting man in the world doesn't have much time left to be interesting. Next to Plummer is Helen Miren; she's a fireball in The Last Station, the actress delivering a wonderful performance that's easily worthy of the Oscar nomination she received. Lush production values and a darn good story alongside the splendid acting leave a lasting impression and make The Last Station a can't-miss movie. Sony's once again delivered a first-rate technical presentation and a graced the disc with a decent selection of extra content. Recommended.