The multi-talented Armando Iannucci takes his unique and caustic eye and focusses it on the Soviet Union of the 1950s. This was a time of mass suppression and death and shameful time in the history of Russia and humanity. So do you think was going to make it a balls-out comedy? No. With Iannucci it was going to be funny, that much is obvious but it was also not going to shy away from the awful absurdities of the Communist state of the Soviet Union. It is a very dark and awful topic highlighted by the spotlight of comedy.

A difficult thing to accomplish as the actors and story definitely walk a fine, fine, line but overall, with a couple of minor exceptions, The Death of Stalin does it. Most of the targets are hit firmly square and centre and those that don’t aren’t far off.

Considering the deaths that Stalin and his cabal of heartless psychopaths were responsible for both, directly and indirectly, this could easily have been tasteless and offensive. That it isn’t is to the eternal credit to everyone involved in the film’s production.

Furthermore, with an absolutely stellar cast being ably assisted by the fantastic period detail and costumes the film sets up the atmosphere of the repressive and murderous era perfectly. The actors speak in their own accents, which is great not a meerkat voice to be heard and it has to be remembered that Russian is huge so the real Russian accents of the real people portrayed would probably have been as varied. It is well-known the Stalin would probably have sounded like ‘Farmer Giles’ to Russians.

If you are a fan of Armando Iannucci then you will spot his deft hand in the directing of the film with the scheming amoral political machinations mixed in with utter idiotic incompetence – you know, like real life. But throughout the running time at no time do you think Iannucci and his cast thinks that this is some huge joke we’re viewing. The audience is reminded in no uncertain terms that whilst these fools made rash decisions on a whim people were being whisked away, murdered and disposed of all the time, all on a whim. We are being made to feel uncomfortable as we view and it works.

The great skill is for a truly comic film The Death of Stalin can is very harrowing. As it should be.

As with every film the cast makes or breaks it and without doubt, the entire cast is outstanding. Lead by the usually gentle and avuncular Simon Russell Beale as the truly odious and without doubt evil, if anyone can be said to be evil, Lavrenti Beria, we get a masterclass by many safe hands. Steve Buscemi is superb as Nikita Khrushchev all nervous energy and Machiavellian twists and the official ‘nicest man in showbusiness TM’ Michael Palin shows he should get more acting parts alongside his fantastic TV travelogues. Jason Issacs storms in both literally and acting-wise and nearly steals the film as true Soviet war-hero Field Marshal Zhukov who apparently was a very easy man to get on with in real life.

The female characters in The Death of Stalin are served a little short but due to the nature of the time it is set in perhaps this not a surprise but nevertheless Andrea Riseborough makes the most of her role as Stalin’s daughter and Olga Kurylenko is convincing as the fearless Stalin-hating Maria Veniaminovna Yudina, likewise Rupert Friend makes the most of his smaller and more comedic role as the drunken Vasily, Stalin’s son, but he does get the best laugh-out line in the film though.

Iannucci has made another great political statement in a comedic manner whilst opening our eyes to the soulless and barbaric practices of authoritarian government and it does make one wonder why would anyone allow that or be attracted to that style of government. Then we go on Twitter.

The idiocy of a fools parliament is laid open with humour but it does not flinch away from the razor cuts inflicted. Watch The Death of Stalin and laugh and be grateful he’s dead. This is a good and awful film.

An interesting, but somewhat worrying docudrama look at the United Kingdom if Comrade Corbyn ever came to power.

Pretty genuinely funny, which I was not expecting. A great one for me and my roommate with a hammer and sickle tattoo to watch together.

_Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go._

Oh, Lordy, how close were these characters to the real people? If you want to learn how illegitimate governments use and abuse power, this is your movie. Forget Seven Days in May, Downfall, All the President's Men, etc. This black-hearted comedy is about the machinations of the Politburo (or whatever these cunning clowns called themselves) to carve up power at the end of the reign of the 2nd worst mass murderer of all time, Josef Stalin. The callous disregard for the most basic respect for human life leaves one horrified, but the machine-gun delivery of snide and snark between these murderous clowns makes you squirm on the sofa. You know who the "good guys" are which, in itself, shows that same disrespect for human life. You feel conflicted because you've picked sides, and I picked Nikita Khrushchev, and not because he was played by Steve Buscemi ("Shut up, Donnie!).

If you have no knowledge of the story of the power struggle after Uncle Joe vapor-locked and rolled to a halt, then accept that the history isn't terribly accurate, but who the hell cares? The viewer sees the mad rush to grab, grab, and grab when the megalomaniacal monster moves on to a luxury suite in Hell. These monsters seem human. I'm totally sure that a black comedy about Adolph or Mao would have the same cunning sleazeballs trying to add to the world's supply of worm food. You wouldn't shoot for a sequel. Everything you need to know is right here.

What I found so disturbing about TDOS was the casual nature of killing people. Prisoners, soldiers, doctors, lawyers, NKVD leaders die with a terrified shout of "Long live, Stalin" and a sharp crack of a pistol. Sometimes that seems to go on and on and on in the echoing background cells of the Kremlin. You get used to the background noise.

So, if you have a taste for the sort of humor you might find in "Best in Show," wherein one character exclaims how romantic it was to lock eyes on each other from their respective corner Starbucks, if you enjoy the feeling of being conflicted about picking good guys when everyone is saturated with Marxist evil, and/or if you like rolling back the video to find out if he or she really said THAT, then sit back and sip that vodka slowly.