Review: ‘In the Loop’

IN THE LOOP, a British political farce written and directed by Armando Iannucci, is a spin-off of the BBC series ‘The Thick Of It’ which satirizes the modern British government. The new film, which moves part of the action to Washington D.C., has been a big hit in the U.K. where it opened in April. It’s a fast-paced hit-and-miss (but mostly hit) comedy in the vein of DR. STRANGELOVE or WAG THE DOG, full of rapid-fire dialogue and screwball situations. In the film, the British Prime Minister and the U.S. President are looking to start a war in the Middle East. Neither of these leaders is shown and the details of the war never mentioned, but it seems obviously based on events that led up to the Iraq war. IN THE LOOP follows an ensemble of mid-level government officials and advisers in their comical behind-the-scenes efforts either to advance the war or prevent it.

The plot of IN THE LOOP, which zigzags from London to Washington, D.C., and back again, is set in motion when Simon Foster (Tom Hollander), the British minister for international development makes the ambiguous statement during a TV interview that “war is unforeseeable.” This is deemed to be a huge gaffe and the prime minister’s vulgar director of communications, Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) panics upon hearing it and tries to spin things to mitigate damage while Simon tries fecklessly to explain his statement. Meanwhile in Washington D.C., U.S. government officials have established a secret “war committee” to prepare for conflict and they seize on Simon’s words as a green light for commencing combat, assuming Britain is on their side. State Department toadie Linton Barwick (David Rasche) does what he can to keep the existence of the committee a secret. An apprehensive assistant to the Secretary of State Karen Clarke (Mimi Kennedy) and a pacifist Pentagon General (James Gandolfini) invite Simon to come to America to further explain his comment. They are against the war and want to use a revealing report written by Barwick’s aide Liza Weld (Anna Chlumsky, MY GIRL all grown up) as a way to expose Barwick’s secret plan and prevent a disaster.

The plot is tangled and there are a lot more characters that I have not mentioned. The audience is immediately dropped into the story without any real build-up or exposition so it took a while for this viewer to get into the rhythm of IN THE LOOP. Those familiar with the TV series will get more out of this film than the uninitiated as it takes no time reestablishing these characters and I found it a challenge to keep up with. IN THE LOOP is thought-provoking adult entertainment but it’s not for everyone. It requires the viewer to have some solid knowledge of politics (or at least be a cable news addict) to appreciate all the insider humor and the zingers fly by so fast that a second viewing might help. The politically astute script wisely sidesteps partisan politics and makes the more general point that all politicians are bumbling idiots whose job it is to fool the public and protect their own skins. IN THE LOOP is filmed in a quasi-documentary style with shaky mobile cameras flying through office cubicles that reminded me at times of the British version of “The Office�. IN THE LOOP is an ensemble piece full of funny characters, but the comedy standout is Peter Capaldi’s foul-mouthed, volcanic-tempered Malcolm Tucker. A scene where he angrily berates his White House contact simply because he’s too young-looking is sidesplitting. IN THE LOOP smartly combines smart performances with a script that plays on real events. It’s also a great example of complex comic writing that never feels forced and has a real improvisational quality. IN THE LOOP is recommended for those who appreciate a comedy with a serious point to make among its many laughs.