The Last Station (2009)

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The Last Station is a historical drama directed by Michael Hoffman, based on the novel by Jay Parini, which dramatizes the final year in the life of famed Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Featuring a powerhouse cast including Christopher Plummer as Tolstoy, Helen Mirren as his wife Sofya, James McAvoy, and Paul Giamatti, the film explores themes of love, legacy, ideology, and the conflict between personal passion and public principle.
Set in 1910, Tolstoy is nearing the end of his life and has become more than a literary icon—he’s the figurehead of a growing movement rooted in pacifism, celibacy, and rejection of material wealth, known as Tolstoyanism. As his followers urge him to leave his vast estate and copyrights to the people, Tolstoy’s longtime wife Sofya fiercely opposes them, believing it is her right to protect her family’s inheritance and her husband’s legacy.
Caught in the middle is Valentin Bulgakov (James McAvoy), Tolstoy’s young, idealistic new secretary, who arrives eager to serve the cause but soon becomes emotionally entangled in the intense domestic and philosophical battle between Sofya and Tolstoy’s loyal follower Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti).
As tensions mount, Tolstoy—torn between his ideals and his lifelong love for Sofya—makes a fateful decision to flee his home in search of peace. His final days unfold in a remote railway station, where the emotional and ideological threads of his life reach a dramatic conclusion.