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Sunday, February 14, 2010

In the Loop (Directed by Armando Iannuchi)



Watched: Feb 12th
Starring: Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander, Gina McKee, James Gandolfini, Chris Addison, Anna Chlumsky

She said:

This film is very clever in that it is clearly a social commentary of the lead up to the Iraq War but it does so under the veil of a fictional satire. It is laugh out loud funny, ridiculously offensive and scarily accurate in its comdeic portrayal of modern government.

With the Iraq Enquiry at the forefront of UK current affairs the idea of informants and influencers miscommunicating vital information is both funny and quite haunting. I am quite a fan of political comedy, which is why I asked that we review this film, and this really didn't disappoint.

For me the film was really a black comedy about spin-doctoring; the art of being deceptive and manipulative in order to win over public opinion. In a very 1984-like way we see politicians rewriting minutes of meetings and important documents in order for them to achieve their own agendas.

It was pretty clear who the characters were supposed to emmulate. Malcolm Tucker, the aggressive, almost satanic No. 10 spin doctor was obviously meant to be Alastair Campbell (the demon on Blair's shoulder). Simon Foster, a character caught up in both sides of the political arguement for and against war was reminiscent of the late David Kelly - a politician that committed suicide after 'sexing-up' the Iraq War dossier.

Overall I found this film very enjoyable. From the thousands of dramatisations about the Iraq War floating around this is the only one that is both accurate and funny, satirical and haunting. I give this film <<<4.5>>>

He said:
I am not one that normally enjoys anything remotely political, I lived a large section of my life being led (and misled) by people thousands of miles of way that never knew the extent of the circumstances they were remote-controlling.

I think I enjoyed this film as it was told primarily from a British point of view and therefore I was able to give it more a degree of separation than I might have had it centered itself on the American side of the argument.

The film is very amusing at times and I think fans of sitcoms like The Office and the Modern Family will very much enjoy the quasi-documentary style of film. It gives you the feel of being a fly on the wall. There are laugh out loud moments and I felt comfortable with the development of each of the characters.

While this is not the film for everyone it was a fun film to watch. I give it {{{3.5 out of 5}}}}

They said:
A political satire from the British perspective, at times hilarious and poignant. A film we would not be surprised to see shown in a civics class. Fun and definitely worth watching we give the film {{{8 out of 10}}}

2 comments:

  1. I have seen this film though I missed the end due to sleepy eyeness. I really enjoyed it and can I just say that writing this comment and actually getting it to appear on the screen has been difficult, difficult, lemon difficult.

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  2. Hey ya'll.. Love the write up and love your blog! Gonna be dropping by again more often

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