Mirren makes ‘Last Station’ a wonder

I went to see “The Last Station” yesterday, the film that tells the story of Russian writer Leo Tolstoy’s final weeks of life. And, yes, I was duly impressed with Oscar nominee Christopher Plummer’s performance as the author of “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina.”

But I was even more impressed with Helen Mirren as Countess Tolstoy, a woman who would drive Freud into therapy - and yet a woman with whom the right man would know great love and devotion. Mirren is still one of the best actresses working today, and her performance in “The Last Station” once again proves it.

The movie also prompts me to pick up one of Tolstoy’s tomes and read it for the second time. Question is, in this day and age of quick-time existence, would I have the patience for an 1,100-page novel?