The Death of Stalin is an impressive and controversial adaptation

By Daisy Lacey, MA Comparative Literatures and Cultures

As reading week approaches, most of my fellow student community will replace the ‘reading’ with watching television or films. What better way to cheat reading than watching an adaptation of some ‘reading’ material.

The lesser known adaptation of a book I am going to recommend is The Death of Stalin (2017) by Armando Iannucci. For those of you who recognise the name, Iannucci is the comedy writing genius who gave us my fictional pin-up Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It (2005-2012) and is responsible for the invention of the incomparable Alan Partridge. He has also crossed the Atlantic to create the satirical hit called Veep (2012-2019) starring an SNL veteran Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

This isn’t Iannucci’s directorial debut; he did create a feature length movie of The Thick of It called In The Loop, which was first premiered in 2009 at the Sundance Film Festival. The Death of Stalin is Iannucci’s third film where he has served as director.

This film is actually based on a French graphic novel La mort de Staline, written by Thierry Robin and Fabien Nury in 2010. It satirises the crumbling political aftermath of the supreme leader’s death, depicting the power struggle between Stalin’s right-hand men.

Iannucci uses elements of the cinema vérité filming technique to best capture the comic elements and not only brings the graphic novel to life, but nurtures the film into what will soon become a classic satirical black-comedy.

I mean, as much as I love the man, I dread to think what Michael Palin’s Russian accent is like

Not only does the film boast a stellar cast, they have been provided a great screenplay, also written by Iannucci and his old writing partners Ian Martin and David Schneider. Furthermore, when watching interviews with the actors, Iannucci wanted the actors to speak using their own accents so the viewer would focus their attention on the comedy. I mean, as much as I love the man, I dread to think what Michael Palin’s Russian accent is like.

Iannucci must have done a good job on the film: it has been banned in Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It has been deemed an ‘unfriendly act by the British intellectual class’ by the leader of the Great Fatherland Party in Russia. In contrast, it also has a 96% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Several academics have criticised the historical accuracy of the film. I mean, Iannucci did come out and remind his critics that it is not a documentary. The film is based on a satirical graphic novel, but the style of filming makes the viewer feel like they are watching a ‘mockumentary’. I didn’t however, sit there when watching the film and think ‘I wonder if Nikita Khrushchev (Buscemi) gave Vyacheslav Molotov (Palin) a dirty look when he suggested holding back Khrushchev’s hair.’

If you want a laugh this reading week, give this lesser known adaptation a whirl and go and treat yourself to a copy of the graphic novel, there is a very good English translation for those non-French speakers out there.

Featured: IMDb / Quad Productions

Did you know this controversial film was actually an adaptation?