This is the story of the last months of the life of Leo Tolstoy (Plummer) and what would become of his copyrights and wealth when he dies. Wife (Helen Mirron) needs the money to support her after his death, but Chertkov (Giamatti) wants him to leave everything to the Russian people. Between the two is his assistant Valentin (McAvoy) who medaites between the parties and trys to understand what Tolstoy really wants. It's an interesting historical record of this strange man and the way he was idolised during his life. The cast are all excellent, especially Plummer, Mirren and Giamatti but the film is quite slow, and with no set pieces as such (as you would expect in this type of film) it does drag on slightly. Having said that, the film is very interesting and well made and has some quite emotional scenes, especially at the end. Recommended for fans of period dramas or anyone interested in Russian history.
Immaculate acting, tremendous cast, quietly presented, almost Chekovian script sensitive but with passionate moments, very Russian, but showing real life of the first great international celebrity - Tolstoy - and his wife and other important figures of the time, taken from their own writings. Also excellent documentary material interviews with cast/writer director on the disc