A retired NYPD officer who stops to chat at the floating book shop recommended a film,
The Death of Stalin (2017). I watched it last night courtesy of Netflix. It's an imagining of the machinations and backstabbing that went on behind the scenes upon the death of that monster responsible for the murders of so many. It is satire, broad black comedy that probably has little basis in facts but likely nails what the government of the evil empire was like. I doubt all the members of the Central Committee were as base as its head, but that doesn't excuse their behavior any more than a Nazi saying he was only following orders. They went along to get along, to survive, always looking over a shoulder, wondering if he/she would be the next to disappear. Still, they were guilty of high crimes. The dialogue is first rate. No wonder the project attracted such an excellent cast. Jeffrey Tambor steals the show as an ultra careful minister. Simon Russell Beale is outstanding as the ambitious homicidal heir apparent. Rupert Friend scores as Stalin's ego-maniacal drunken son, as do Jason Isaacs as WWII hero General Zhukov, and Michael Palin as a minister, almost unrecognizable from his Monty Python days. And in the role of Nikita Khrushchev, there is the odd casting of Steve Buscemi, who gives the part all he has. No one employs a Russian accent, which bothered me, although it is better than only some using one. Another quibble I have with the flick is that the tone is almost lighthearted despite the horrible proceedings. I didn't laugh once. Most of the violence occurs off-screen, gun shots sounding frequently. I was surprised to discover the piece is based not on a book or play but a comic by Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin, who received screenplay credit along with director Armando Ianucci and two others. Ianucci may be of Italian descent but he is listed as a Scotsman at IMDb. Although his credits are extensive, this was my first encounter with his work. Most of the cast has done a lot of BBC TV. 48,000+ users at IMDb have rated
The Death of Stalin, forging to a consensus of 7.2 on a scale of ten. The flick brought in $24 million-plus worldwide. I was unable to find how much it cost to produce. Those offended by profanity and violence should pass, as should Soviet apologists. Conversely, those who hate communism would probably love it. It runs 1:46 and moves briskly. Thanks, Marty. Here's a still:
I'm disappointed that GDP growth was only 3.5% in the third quarter, although many are celebrating that figure. The economy is definitely doing better than under the previous administrations, but I wonder what will happen once the positive effects of the tax cuts fade. As I've said before, there were blips of solid growth in consecutive quarters during the Obama years. If the fourth, which has the benefit of holiday spending, is not good, I will be even more bummed about the political situation than I am at present. I fear the bomber has ruined any chance of Republicans holding on to the House of Representatives, and I hope he hasn't wiped out the gains projected in the Senate. Even an intelligent op-ed piece by David Harsanyi failed to boost my spirits. In it, he lambastes the phrase "The most important election in history" and cites how many times it has been said going back to 1856. Although I don't know if it's the most important, it's the most interesting, although the bomber may have ruined that aspect.
I've completed the tedious task of taking out the dead air in the file of the novel I will self-publish in January. There was a space after every paragraph. I had to do it manually, as I was unable to figure out how to do it in one shot, although the instructions seemed simple. Anyway, the manuscript shrunk by 33 pages to 352. Since the larger a book is, the more it costs the consumer, I also changed the font from 12 to 11 point. That shrank the count to 304. I'd be surprised if grows, as I've made just about all the additions I'd intended, and I expect to trim it in spots.
Even the scaffold cannot keep out the effects of a Nor'easter. As frustrating as the results of the floating book shop have been lately, I hate being sidelined.
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