‘The Last Station’

“The Last Station” is a paean to the enduring power of both love and that long list of irritations between couples who’ve spent a lifetime together. Newly Oscar-nominated Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren as writer Leo Tolstoy and wife Sofya create such an authentic sense of long-suffering affection that it’s easy to imagine that life off-screen. But Tolstoy’s estate is a bitter issue, with Sofya intent on leaving the rights to his works to their children and the writer planning on giving them to the Russian people. There’s a fine supporting cast, including James McAvoy as a Tolstoy acolyte and Paul Giamatti as an advisor. The film captures the struggles of a great mind troubled by fame and tormented by his wife.

-- Betsy Sharkey