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Vice (2018)
A breathtaking performance by Christian Bale in the starring role notwithstanding, Vice is a rambling and long-winded docudrama centering on George W. Bush's VP, Dick Cheney that could have used a little less "docu" and a lot more drama.
Dick Cheney was a strong and unassuming man dedicated to public service and was apparently lured into politics by Donald Rumsfeld, who was apparently instrumental in George W.'s choice of Cheney as a running mate. Even the most unassuming man knows that the Vice President is the most thankless job on the planet but apparently George W. appealed to the former beer-drinking rowdy in Cheney that George could relate to. The film reveals how Cheney, probably more than any other Vice President in history, did whatever he could to make the job less thankless.
Adam McKay, who won an Oscar for writing another film that lost me (The Big Short) has crafted another confusing screenplay that attempts a couple of different methods of storytelling and is not really sure which one he really wants to employ. The screenplay is an unsettling combination of biographical facts and cinematic analogies that make consistent investment in what's going on difficult. First of all, we are confused by Cheney's story being narrated by someone named Kurt (Jesse Plemons) whose connection to Cheney is revealed WAY too late and introduces us to his interpretation of a lot of Cheney's actions. The whole comparison of setting up the VP's administration to the Parker Brothers board game Risk was genius as was the ordering of military strategy as if they were items on a dinner menu with perfect descriptions of each item choice from a waiter (Alfred Molina in a terrific cameo).
This movie could have been amazing if McKay had taken a little more of a jaundiced view the way he did with the board game and the restaurant scene; unfortunately, a lot of the story gets bogged down in archival news footage where it was often hard to establish its connection to Cheney's story. A little more emphasis on life at home might have helped too, since the movie makes no bones about the influence that wife Lynne and his daughters had on him.
As troublesome as I found a lot of what was going on, I was absolutely riveted to the screen for one reason...the amazing performance by Christian Bale as Dick Cheney that just won him a Golden Globe and has him in strong contention for a second Oscar. The physical transformation that Bale went through for this role is incredible and confirms his spot as one of cinema's best chameleons right now. I read that Bale put on 45 pounds and shaved his head and eyebrows in order to be completely unrecognizable in this role, which he completely loses himself in. Not since Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada have I seen an actor command the screen barely speaking above a stage whisper, just stunning work. Oscar winner Sam Rockwell made a fantastic George W. and Amy Adams was solid, as always, as Lynne. Film editing and sound were also big assets, I just wish McKay hadn't let this one get away from him because there are parts of an amazing movie in here, though it's still worth seeing for the incredible performance by Christian Bale, which should be studied by acting students.
A breathtaking performance by Christian Bale in the starring role notwithstanding, Vice is a rambling and long-winded docudrama centering on George W. Bush's VP, Dick Cheney that could have used a little less "docu" and a lot more drama.
Dick Cheney was a strong and unassuming man dedicated to public service and was apparently lured into politics by Donald Rumsfeld, who was apparently instrumental in George W.'s choice of Cheney as a running mate. Even the most unassuming man knows that the Vice President is the most thankless job on the planet but apparently George W. appealed to the former beer-drinking rowdy in Cheney that George could relate to. The film reveals how Cheney, probably more than any other Vice President in history, did whatever he could to make the job less thankless.
Adam McKay, who won an Oscar for writing another film that lost me (The Big Short) has crafted another confusing screenplay that attempts a couple of different methods of storytelling and is not really sure which one he really wants to employ. The screenplay is an unsettling combination of biographical facts and cinematic analogies that make consistent investment in what's going on difficult. First of all, we are confused by Cheney's story being narrated by someone named Kurt (Jesse Plemons) whose connection to Cheney is revealed WAY too late and introduces us to his interpretation of a lot of Cheney's actions. The whole comparison of setting up the VP's administration to the Parker Brothers board game Risk was genius as was the ordering of military strategy as if they were items on a dinner menu with perfect descriptions of each item choice from a waiter (Alfred Molina in a terrific cameo).
This movie could have been amazing if McKay had taken a little more of a jaundiced view the way he did with the board game and the restaurant scene; unfortunately, a lot of the story gets bogged down in archival news footage where it was often hard to establish its connection to Cheney's story. A little more emphasis on life at home might have helped too, since the movie makes no bones about the influence that wife Lynne and his daughters had on him.
As troublesome as I found a lot of what was going on, I was absolutely riveted to the screen for one reason...the amazing performance by Christian Bale as Dick Cheney that just won him a Golden Globe and has him in strong contention for a second Oscar. The physical transformation that Bale went through for this role is incredible and confirms his spot as one of cinema's best chameleons right now. I read that Bale put on 45 pounds and shaved his head and eyebrows in order to be completely unrecognizable in this role, which he completely loses himself in. Not since Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada have I seen an actor command the screen barely speaking above a stage whisper, just stunning work. Oscar winner Sam Rockwell made a fantastic George W. and Amy Adams was solid, as always, as Lynne. Film editing and sound were also big assets, I just wish McKay hadn't let this one get away from him because there are parts of an amazing movie in here, though it's still worth seeing for the incredible performance by Christian Bale, which should be studied by acting students.