Tribeca Review: ‘In The Loop’

I am not a big fan of British humor. I am not a big fan of political humor. Yet, I still enjoyed this film. I have never seen the TV show it was based on (The Thick of It) but I would assume fans of the show would also like this. It is essentially a satire of government and media, in which a bumbling British politician makes an off hand comment about war that leads to an international clusterf*ck. In fact, I’m sure the term clusterf*ck is used in the film. It seems like they use every other variation of the F-word as well as every other curse known to man. In fact, just as Kelly Clarkson was used as a swear in 40-Year Old Virgin, UK spin-doctor Malcom Tucker (Peter Capaldi) turns just about every line into an insulting swear.

I loved the character of Simon Foster (Tom Hollander), who is the politician that makes the slip up during a radio interview and causes an international government crisis. He could have easily been a one-dimensional character since his main purpose is to screw up every interview he has. However, I actually cared for the character since you can clearly see he has good intentions. It is obvious he is an idealist who believes he can make a difference, but unfortunately for him, that is not how big government is run. James Gandolfini also surprised me in his role of Lt. Gen. George Miller. He seemed to be having a lot of fun and the film is worth it just to watch him try using a children’s toy to explain a US military strategy.

The film is interesting in that there is a complicated storyline that must have been tightly scripted; however, it appears as though almost all of the dialogue is improvised. It is actually quite brilliant because it makes everything seem so natural, and given the documentary shooting style of the film, everything appears believable.  It would have been interesting to see another set of characters based inside the media outlets covering the story but that would have made the film way to convoluted. It is best that they kept it mainly within the political realm so that the characters and stories are fully fleshed out.

Overall, In The Loop is a smart and funny political satire.

In The Loop will be released in the US through IFC Films July 24^th  

4 out of 5 foreseeable slip-ups

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com