A One Mann’s Movies review of “Vice” (2019).
Bob the Movie Man’s Movie Rating:
Certification:
UK: 15; US: R.
By an strange coincidence, the morning after seeing this film, I heard on BBC Radio 4 a snippet of the farewell speech of President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1961. I thought there was no sound-bite summed up the film better than this:
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.”
The story and the political context
“Vice” tells the ‘true story’ – well… they ‘tried their f***ing best’ (LOL) – of the quiet man behind the throne, Dick Cheney (Christian Bale). (That doesn’t sound like the greatest premise for a film… it must have been an interesting “green light” meeting with the producers!)
Featuring flash-backs and flash-forwards at random, we trace the career of the Wyoming Yale drop-out from the early 60’s through to his rise to power and then his graceful retirement, where he went on to run ‘Iron Man’ races and breed award-winning Golden Retrievers. (Important note: If you are a character that bolts for the door at the first sight of an end-title…. resist!).
It’s a film about infuriating Republicans (n) and a film that’s no doubt infuriating (v) many Republicans. Other than an infamous hunting incident I knew nothing about Cheney…. and, to be honest, I’m still not sure I’m much the wiser. For this is a film by Adam McKay, who made “The Big Short” and the ‘facts’ presented to you by the narrative – in the same manner as the ‘facts’ presented in Michael Moore‘s documentaries – perhaps need to be taken with more than a little pinch of salt. (I did see an interview though where McKay said that all his “facts” had been “fact-checked”. But this might be fake news!)
It begs the question with me as to whether the film has been funded as a pro-Democratic piece of mischief. I noted in the end-titles that two of the producers were Brad Pitt and Will Ferrell: one can only assume that they may get their fair share of hate mail mixed in with their fan mail for being involved with this one.
By the way, there is a nice ‘monkey‘ mid-credits mocking the “liberal-bias” in the film that is worth staying for. (I didn’t stay to the very end of the titles – the cleaners were lurking! – to see if there was another one there: please add a review comment if there was!)
Mockumentary style
If you remember “The Big Short” then you will no doubt remember McKay’s anarchic film-making style. This is very like that film, but without all of the celebrity pieces to camera (and I personally missed Margot Robbie in that bubble bath). This mockumentary style is, in the main, wildly entertaining but occasionally crosses over the line into ‘rather annoying’ territory. In trying hard to make an entertaining biopic about someone who, in many ways, was a pretty dull and grey politician, McKay occasionally goes over-the-top and the script become pretentious. (A Shakespearean sonnet was one such moment for me).
Surely not?
There are some absolutely jaw-dropping assertions made by the film that – if I was an American – would make this a squirm-inducing movie to watch. Aside from 50% of the US population, world-opinion generally seems to view the current incumbent of The White House as a bumbling out-of-his-depth incompetent. But – Russian conspiracy suggestions aside – it doesn’t feel like there is a massive tale of corruption waiting to emerge. Here, the picture painted is far darker and far more disturbing. If I had a parent or spouse that lost their life to the Iraq war in pursuit of those imaginary ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction”, I would be distraught by the movie’s assertions. Is this historical fact? It seems truly unbelievable and downright criminal if so.
Some towering acting achievements
Christian Bale justly deserves award-nominations for his portrayal of Cheney. The man is an acting-machine and the physical transformation from the young stocky 60’s lineman to the stooped and overweight elderly gent is staggering. (Interestingly, the one-scene seen in the trailer where he exposes his – presumably genuine – naked paunch is not, I don’t think, in the finished cut.)
Supporting Bale is a strong supporting cast, led by Amy Adams as Dick’s assertive, opinionated and clever wife Lynne. Adams also ages extremely well in the film, and it’s another standout performance from her. The sense is always there, from glances and moods rather than overtly in the script, that this is very much a partnership towards a goal (an “axis of evil” if you will!).
Again delivering knock-out performances are Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld and Sam Rockwell as George ‘Dubya’ Bush.
Carell gets better and better in every film, and – with “Beautiful Boy” and “Welcome to Marwen” – he’s been in three of the films I’ve seen in the last month… a busy release period for the guy. His Rumsfeld feels like an intelligent impersonation of the leader, and interactions with others in the cast (such as Tyler Perry as Colin Powell) feel genuine and passionate.
And is there a bad film that Rockwell has been in? His portrayal of the ‘Bush boy’ least-likely-to-lead is also uncanny. He’s painted, probably accurately, as a puppet in the hands of Cheney, the great manipulator.
The film is narrated by the excellent Jesse Plemons as an every-man who ends up with a close relationship with Cheney, as we find out later in the film (something I didn’t for a minute see coming).
Eddie Marsan – one of my favourite actors – also pops up, as does an uncredited Alfred Molina in a funny, but disturbing cameo role.
Will I like it?
If you liked McKay’s “The Big Short” then I think you will enjoy this one. Conversely, if you were irritated by the quirky directorial style of that film then this one will also drive you to distraction. A few people I saw walk out of the showing: it just wasn’t for them.
As a UK15-rated film, there are also “disturbing scenes” (as the BBFC describes them), mostly in the form of inter-cut news footage of 9/11 and other terrorist incidents, and infamous US torture tactics that still remain shocking to this day. (One of the worst of these for me featured the close-to-home Piccadilly tube bombings in 2005.) The editing also deliberately cuts from very quiet scenes to EXTREMELY LOUD military explosions that made me often jump out of my skin: so perhaps not for the overly nervous cinema-goer!
But this is one of the most thought-provoking films that I am likely to see this year, and I was fascinated from beginning to (final) end. Once again I am hovering on a rating of 4.5, and I can’t give half ratings. I think in this case, as the film is constantly on my mind at the moment, I chose to go up rather than down.
Trailer:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g09a9laLh0k .
This is just a BEAUTIFULLY put together trailer. From the music to the editing to the clever yellow titling as he walks down the steps. Joyful.
