THE LAST STATION — ★★1/2 — James McEvoy, Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren; rated R (vulgarity, sex, brief nudity, slurs, profanity, violence); Broadway Centre
It's clear from the lush look, feel and sound of "The Last Station" that the filmmakers have seen "Doctor Zhivago," David Lean's classic 1965 adaptation of the Boris Pasternak novel.
The only shame is that they didn't use the same restraint that Lean used in his depiction of certain content.
While this historically based drama does feature some very good performances, as well as some astute observations about the nature of love, it is also a little too explicit in its depiction of sexual activities. If just one scene — a sexual encounter — were either cut or trimmed, the film could have easily gotten a more palatable PG-13 rating.
Like "Doctor Zhivago," this is set in Russia and is also based on a novel. This one, by Jay Perini, is a fictionalized look at the final days of beloved Russian author Leo Tolstoy.
At the time, Tolstoy was arguably the most famous and most popular writer in the world. And in this version of events, the aging Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer) finds his allegiances and affections torn between those of his possessive, materialistic wife, Countess Sofya Tolstoy (Helen Mirren), and his closest adviser, control freak Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti).
Chertkov is founding supposed "Tolstoyan" camps, based on his friend's beliefs and philosophies. But the countess fears that means her rival wants Tolstoy to give away all his money as well.
The person who may be able to sway Tolstoy's decision in all this is his new personal secretary, Valentin Bulgakov (James McAvoy).
This naive newcomer is supposed to spend his time with the writer, so both the countess and Chertkov have asked him to spy on their behalf.
Valentin, though, has become obsessed with a fellow Tolstoyan, the pretty Macha (Kerry Condon).
Screenwriter/director Michael Hoffman ("The Emperor's Club") spends too much time dwelling on that latter relationship and not enough on the countess-Chertkov power struggle.
Still, Plummer is as charismatic as ever, and he's well-matched with fellow Oscar nominee Mirren.
As Chertkov, Giamatti comes off as one-note, and he's capable of better work than this.
"The Last Station" is rated R and features crude sex talk and language (including innuendo and slang), simulated sex and other sexual contact (mostly implied), brief female nudity, derogatory language and slurs, scattered profanity and some brief domestic violence (a dining room tantrum and some gunplay). Running time: 112 minutes.
e-mail: jeff@desnews.com