CineVegas Review: ‘In The Loop’

‘In the Loop,’ the feature film adaption of the BBC series “The Thick of It,” is an aggressively funny, and oftentimes startling, depiction of the current, political structure.   Dividing the time between the US and the UK, it takes just about everything you believed to be true in terms of foreign affairs and political backstabbing, and turns them into a series of verbal sparring where each character tries to get the upper hand in the most lewd and intense way.   The backstabbing is pretty much reiterated, though.

It all starts with one, precise word, “unforeseeable.”   That is how the British Secretary of State for International Development refers to military action by the US.   That word becomes the catalyst for a series of conversations, some halfway civilized, some downright ugly, about whether the UN should or should not vote for the war.   Eccentric and, most of the time, fairly vile characters make for interesting window dressing along the way.

Directed by Armando Iannucci, ‘In the Loop’ is a film about politics, but the director never shows his cards or attempts to sway the audience.   Filmed in a style akin to “The Office,” Iannucci displays the characters and events in the film with ever-moving camera angles, zoom-ins and outs, and a jarring sense of place to bridge the audience into the film.   Every character within the film has their own opinions, and each is, deep down, a rather immoral person who will stop at nothing to get their way.   Iannucci does an incredible job keeping the different characters seperate, never allowing any one of them to get an upper hand in terms of importance to the story.

That story, by the way, grows ever more complex as the deadline grows near and the vulgarities grow ever more crass.   It is a complex story, and, if you aren’t paying very close attention, it is easy to get mixed up in the myriad of opinions and political discourse.   I wouldn’t go so far as to say it is ever convoluted.   The screenwriters at work here, Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche, and Iannucci, keep the film just entertaining enough throughout to never be on the wrong end of confusion.   The overall idea is very simple.   Some people think war is a good idea.   Others don’t.   The red tape, career threats and reprehensible attitudes are all just part of the show.   These elements add seasoning (and a little gristle) to an already sizable steak.

The film leads you to believe that debates never really go anywhere.   You can never sway a politician’s initial ideaology.   You can only insult his mother and tell him where he can shove his belief system.   The film becomes extremely episodic through the thick, middle scenes.   I almost expected a scoreboard to pop up at the bottom of the screen, counting up insults from either side so that, once the scene was over, we might have a better understanding of who actually won.

Playing the parts of these crass characters are some extremely talented actors.   First and foremost is Peter Capaldi, who reprises his role from the BBC TV series as Malcom Tucker, the main spin-doctor for the Prime Minister.   Capaldi seems like he could insult someone in his sleep and without much thought put into it.   I hate to speculate on whether someone’s scenes are or are not improvised, but Capaldi never stammers over his lines.   I’m not even sure he ever even repeats himself on any of his insults.   Before the film is over, you will definitely have more than a few new ways of telling someone off.   They come from all of the characters, but Capaldi’s Malcom Tucker is the keynote speaker in this film, to put it one way.

Other notable performances come from James Gandolfini as a military general, Tom Hollander as the mush-mouthed, and oftentimes witless, Secretary of State who starts the whole mess, and David Rasche as a US State department official who uses a live hand grenade as a paper weight.   Each of these actors, and others too numerous to name here, gives an outstanding performance, and each brings in their own level of charisma that either turns you on or turns you off to that, specific role.   Steve Coogin pops up about halfway through as a citizen of the private sector who can’t get the UK officials to hear him about his decaying, brick wall.   It’s a fun performance, and the role is pertinent to the underside of the story, but it just seems a bit too heavy-handed in the realm of dry humor the rest of the film creates.

Complex, intelligent, and, most importantly, all-out funny, ‘In the Loop’ is a look at the political system you may have never seen before.   It is intensely comical, and it offers up enough different kinds of humor to just about satisfy anyone.   The lude nature of most of the characters might be a bit much to some people, and hearing Peter Capaldi scream for nearly two hours might not seem all that much fun to some people.   However, ‘In The Loop’ is anything but bland.   On the contrary, it is a riotous film for anyone willing to give it the time.