In the Loop (2009)

 

            “In the Loop” is a British black comedy about the Iraq War.  It was directed and co-written by Armando Iannucci.  He created the BBC series “The Thick of It”.  Much of the cast also appeared in the TV series, but only Peter Capaldi and Paul Higgins play the same character.  Iannucci created the American version of “The Thick of It”, the HBO series “VEEP”.  Iannucci flashed an ID card and told the guard he was from the BBC to get into the State Department.  He wandered around for several hours taking pictures to help the set designer.  The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.  

            In the aftermath of 9/11, the Bush administration is laying the groundwork for an invasion of Iraq.  Bush is expecting Great Britain will participate in the war.  In London, Simon Foster (Tom Hollander), Minister for International Development, tells a reporter that “war is unforeseeable”.  Malcolm Tucker (Capaldi), the Prime Minister’s Director of Communications, is irate about the flub.  He is a modern spin-doctor.  It’s his job to sell Great Britain’s involvement in the war.  Tucker is the poster boy for apoplectic.  And for cursing.  He reams Foster which results in Foster doing damage control by telling the press that America and Britain will be “climbing the mountain of conflict”.  As ridiculous as that phrase is, the pro-war people turn it into a slogan.  The Prime Minister is planning on supporting the U.S., so everyone needs to be on board.  The main players shift to Washington where the Assistant Secretary of State and a general who is assistant to the Secretary of Defense (James Gandolfini) are trying to keep America out of the war.  There is a report on the pros and cons of going to war, with the cons outweighing the pros.  Tucker’s mission is to quash the report.

            If you are a political junkie, followed the Iraq War, or you are a fan of “VEEP”, you will enjoy this film.  It does help if you are familiar with the leadup to the war.  The movie is fictional, but it is based on the WMD evidence provided by Secretary of State Colin Powell at the United Nations.  You are not going to enjoy it if you are a Fox News viewer.  The film is bitingly critical of the Bush administration and its British allies. It is satire at its best and reminds of “Dr. Strangelove”.  The dialogue is brilliant.  It is high IQ humor and not for everyone.  The quantity and quality of jokes is huge.  It reminded me of the “MASH” tv series.   

The acting is outstanding.  Capaldi is hilarious as Tucker.  Tucker is possibly the funniest villain in war movie history.  He has the biggest potty mouth I have ever heard in a war movie.  I counted them, he uses the f-word 70 times!  The rest of the characters chip in 52 more.  The first cut of the film was 4.5 hours.  Imagine how many f-words were in that cut.  This may seem excessive, but I bet it is not far off from actual dialogue inside the Beltway.  And it is a realistic look behind the scenes.  This is how foreign policy works.  The movie does not rely on the shock value of four-letter words to produce laughs.  The cast is amazing and they did a lot of improv.  Gandolfini is perfect as the general.  His research included talking to some generals.   Here is a sample of some of the jokes:

 

Jamie McDonald:   See that fax?

Michael Rodgers: Yes.

Jamie MacDonald: That is your career. And I think it might be fucked, but let's just check. Yeah, yeah, it's pretty fucked. Now, I hope you can play the spoons, because you're too old to go back to being a gentleman's fluffer.

 

Simon Foster:  (after his “unforeseeable” remark)  That's not supposed to be out there...

Malcolm Tucker: Well, it is out there, it's out there now, lurking like a big hairy rapist at a coach station. You know, if I could, I'd punch you into paralysis!

 

Tucker:  Christ on a bendy-bus. Don't be such a fucking faff arse.

You won’t come away from watching it with more respect for politicians.  But then again, because of the Iraq War, trust in the U.S. government reached a new low.  When I used to teach the sinking of the USS Maine and how it was used to declare war on Spain, I would emphasize that this would not be the last time the public was not told the truth about the reason for going to war.  The Iraq War is just the latest example of manipulation of information to justify war.  You may have tears in your eyes from watching it.  Some of those tears will be from laughter and others from disgust for how Americans were duped into spending trillions of dollars and thousands of lives in a war that should not have occurred.  If that statement gets your goat, do not watch this movie.

GRADE  =  A