Armando Iannucci is well-known for his mastery of political comedy, cemented with favourites like Veep and In the Loop.

There’s not much to laugh about when it comes to the life and times of Joseph Stalin, but Iannucci loves a bit of dark humour and that’s where The Death of Stalin really shines.

The Daily Beast are calling it “the funniest political comedy of the year”, and offer this summary:

The Death of Stalin is not about the dictator himself, who, by all accounts, did not possess much of an inner life; the movie is instead bound up with the struggle for political supremacy that followed his fatal stroke. Iannucci has assembled an expert group of American and British character actors to depict key members of the Soviet politburo united by their desire to replace their fallen leader, as well as a pervasive paranoia that new purges will seal their fates as firmly as those of the previous victims of Stalin’s murderous assault on “enemies of the people.”

Sounds like a mouthful, but let’s check out the trailer:

So I know what you’re thinking – it’s all about Russia, but everyone has American or British accents.

For some that works in the film’s favour:

One of the most refreshing aspects of The Death of Stalin’s casting involves Iannucci’s decision to reject the usual proprieties of historical films that ordain that actors should either emulate the accents of the protagonists they’re impersonating or at least share some bland, homogenous speech pattern. Giving the finger to the unreal “realism” of Hollywood historical pageants, the actors speak in a farrago of inflections that affirm the surreal tenor of life in the former Soviet Union.

Yeah, take that Hollywood.

I suppose it’s infinitely better than watching American and British actors attempt that horrible Russian accent we see on screen all too often.

[source:dailybeast]