In The Loop Movie
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Storyline
TAGLINES
The fate of the world is on the line.
The US President and UK Prime Minister fancy a war. But not everyone agrees that war is a good thing. The US General Miller doesn't think so and neither does the British Secretary of State for International Development, Simon Foster. But, after Simon accidentally backs military action on TV, he suddenly has a lot of friends in Washington, DC. If Simon can get in with the right DC people, if his entourage of one can sleep with the right intern, and if they can both stop the Prime Minister's chief spin-doctor Malcolm Tucker rigging the vote at the UN, they can halt the war. If they don't... well, they can always sack their Director of Communications Judy, who they never liked anyway and who's back home dealing with voters with blocked drains and a man who's angry about a collapsing wall.
| Peter Capaldi | Malcolm Tucker |
| Tom Hollander | Simon Foster |
| Gina McKee | Judy |
| James Gandolfini | Lt. Gen. George Miller |
| Chris Addison | Toby Wright |
| Anna Chlumsky | Liza Weld |
| Enzo Cilenti | Bob Adriano |
| Paul Higgins | Jamie MacDonald |
| Mimi Kennedy | Karen Clarke |
| Alex MacQueen | Sir Jonathan Tutt |
| Johnny Pemberton | A.J. Brown |
| Olivia Poulet | Suzy |
| David Rasche | Linton Barwick |
| Joanna Scanlan | Roz |
| James Smith | Michael Rodgers |
| Armando Iannucci |
8.20 out of 10 (1256 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Iannucci Sacrifices Much For the Big Screen
posted on 14 Aug 2009'The Thick of It' was a TV show that began life on one of the niche digital channels of the BBC in 2005. It was brilliant, an ALtman-style, semi-improvised show where real situations garnered from creator Armando Iannucci's eavesdropping from the corridors of the UK parliament were parlayed into hilarious comedies of errors. WIth emphatic Scottish swearing.The show hit a bump in the intervening years through star Chris Langham's conviction for downloading internet porn of minors and so halted as a series, spinning off into two Christmas specials.The film, 'In The Loop' sees much of the same cast and crew return, though, oddly, with characters renamed, realigned and becoming broader. Peter Capaldi's Macchiavellian spin doctor, Malcolm Tucker, for example, is far more realistic, ominously sensitive and chillingly banal in the TV show, making his moments of tyranny and bullying all the more powerful. In this film he is simply a swearing, Scottish Basil Fawlty, as if the 'Greatest Hits' of the character are showcased.The repertory company created of the TV show worked well, so it is perplexing why Iannucci breaks them up when such believable chemistry had been created.The potential for a swipe at how every political agency in the West conspired to hatch the Iraq and Afghani invasions is jettisoned in favour of a far less relevant attempt to make a Schwarzkopf-type character seem more sympathetic than a Rumsfeld-inspired character.Iannucci was the man who could have speared the military-industrial madness of the last eight years on a satirical spike. Instead he blows raspberries at it from a bus. He has castrated his original idea.
An anti-war shag? … In the Loop
posted on 02 Aug 2009There is something about British comedy that resonates with me. I don't know if it is because we in the States experience so little of it, or maybe because Hollywood rapes and pillages the material for their own water-downed versions, but the humor just seems fresh, uncensored, and hilarious. When I first came across the new political black comedy In the Loop, I will admit to being less than interested. The marketing materials were using the whole Obama silkscreen poster look and I really wasn't interested in a movie about how the US and Britain decided to go into the Middle East. But then the buzz started. The realization that the film was shot with a penchant for improv, a desire to entertain rather than teach, and a cast of characters looking as though they are in a Christopher Guest movie, soon turned that preconception around. This is a fantastic film that never lets up on the laughs or one-liners. I just hope people go into it knowing that this isn't how it actually happened … but then who knows? Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction.The back and forth dialogue is so quick that I couldn't believe my eyes when I read a quote from the director about it all being about 80-85% scripted. He says that he gave the actors leeway to break course and even do takes without scripts at all, but when culling everything together, most of what stuck actually maintained the verbiage laid out by its five screenwriters. Each of these men, including director Armando Iannucci, has been working with British television and all have collaborated on the show "The Thick of It". I will say now, if I get a chance to check it out, I most certainly will. Political satire is not necessarily my favorite thing in the world—I'll watch the odd "Daily Show" episode—but after viewing this laugh-riot, checking out a spoof on the British political system, of which I know very little, could be a ton of fun. Heck, just the inclusion of Peter Capaldi will get me to stop surfing when I reach the BBC. This guy steals the show without question.Capaldi plays Malcolm Turner, a Brit on the frontline of politics as an aide to the Prime Minister, spinning everything and anything to save face. With no time to spare on his running across the Atlantic to put out fires wherever his compatriots start them, you will have to forgive his abrasive, sarcastic, and just plain mean demeanor. The idea of war is being bandied about on talk shows, behind closed-door governmental meetings, and all over the media machine, and it is up to him to keep a lid on it by walking the party line, neither stating a fight is inevitable or unforeseeable—two terms that the buffoon who is British Secretary of State for International Development Simon Foster, played beautifully by the ever capable Tom Hollander, loves to utter. Foster just has to open his mouth to cause a stir felt around the world, and each time, of course, Malcolm Turner is there to chastise and humiliate his stupidity.The film ultimately revolves around the journey Hollander's Foster takes in trying to enhance exposure for himself. Partaking in talk shows or talking out of turn when enlisted to just be "room meat", some of the Americans begin to see him as someone abroad that shares their sentiment that war is a bad idea. While David Rasche's Linton Barwick—a hardcore proponent of battle, even using a live grenade as a paperweight—forms secret committees to discuss strategies for war, Mimi Kennedy's Karen Clarke and James Gandolfini's Lt. General George Miller are looking for ways to get into that meeting and shut it down. As a result, those two dissenters try to get Foster at every event to awkwardly express his stance of war being unforeseeable, hoping to deter any people on the fence that may be in attendance. So, Malcolm must run back and forth through England and DC spinning things his way and lambasting anyone that gets in his line of fire. Either Foster is too oblivious to care about the verbal assaults thrown his way or he just feels he can blame his Director of Communications Judy, who he makes stay at home while he globe-trots with his new young adviser Toby, (Gina McKee and Chris Addison respectively). Toby and Foster are so similar in their awe of America and lack of experience that their adventures make for good cinema, taking camera phone pics out their limo and speaking about getting hookers for the ride.In the Loop is expertly acted and, for the most part, I have to credit that to the intelligent script being utilized. Whether the actors are improvising or not, the original text they are sticking to or springboarding from needed to be strong. By using all the jokes and imbecilic actions we associate with politicians, the writers have crafted a plausible, if not entirely idiotic, account of the days leading up to our countries' joint invasion. Documents are leaked, words are twisted, and supposed partners are stabbed in the back. But through it all we have Capaldi doing his best to keep Britain's stance as noncommittal as possible. And, truthfully, the way in which he does it makes for what has to be the funniest role of the year. Every word out of his mouth is acerbic and full of double meaning. With the f-word spewing at will and demeaning name-callings going left and right, make sure your head is clear if British speech sometimes troubles you in the comprehension realm. Understanding his words definitely pays off, keeping what would otherwise be a slightly bloated and meandering plot grounded in comedic excellence.
We May Have Found Summer's Sleep with 'In The Loop', America
posted on 29 Jul 2009Political comedy is a hard stunt to pull off. Ever since 1964, it seemed like nothing could top Dr. Strangelove. A lot of movies have tried and a lot have failed, although there were the lucky few that passed the bar (Election, Thank You for Smoking) but the brilliant thing about In The Loop is that it's so stupidly funny that it's one of the best comedies of the 21st Century! Armando Iannucci, most known for his The Thick of It series in the UK, directs a movie with the a the familiar theme of The Office. That documentary-style of film-making can be hit-or-miss (most recently, Public Enemies, a miss) and Iannucci hits it right on. Every scene he graces with a camera comes out picture perfect; nobody could've pegged this movie any better. Iannucci, Jesse Armstrong, Tony Roche and Simon Blackwell's script is something out of picture show heaven and sounds like it must've taken forever to finish, edit, revise, etc. Although these guys, these geniuses, apparently know what they're doing and don't care what anybody else says. That is the heart and soul of movie-making, readers. In The Loop is about a corrupt British government that accidentally gets the country thrown into the middle of a war. Loop stars Peter Capaldi, Gina McKee, James Gandolfini, Chris Addison and there's even a whimsical cameo by Steve Coogan. Capaldi is the absolute best at what he did, spewing swears as coarse as they are a riot ("fuck you, you lubricated horse cock!") and freaking out. I can't even put into words just how funny this guy was; he made the movie! But don't forget Addison as Toby. Addison is the British Napoleon Dynamite, that incredibly awkward guy that makes even the audience members turn red. James Gandolfini and Gina McKee round out the rest of the cast greatly, filling In The Loop with the type of sexual tension that you don't want to think about. It's like when a sex scene pops up on a DVD you're watching with your parents. Yeah, that bad.In The Loop is one of the most laugh out loud comedies I've seen in the past decade, that sadly nobody will get a chance to watch. In a world of Transformers and G.I Joe, In The Loop will sadly be ignored. But on an optimistic note, we may have found this summer's sleeper, America.5/5 stars.
New Labour spin satire-feature
posted on 21 Jul 2009A not entirely effective but nonetheless funny polemic satire on the Iraq war dossier debacle. This is essentially The Thick Of It: The Movie, a feature length version of the acrid-hilarious TV satire on the New Labour culture of spin, i.e. government manipulation of the news. I would love to have seen more of the actual defining event in this respect, the David Kelly affair but the film doesn't get that far.In fact the film doesn't really get anywhere in terms of conventional satire, preferring to keep it's all-seeing eye on the characters rather than their position. It demands a lot of trust from the viewer.I liked the cast and their characters - I think that Tom Hollander is excellent as the hapless careerist Cabinet Secretary entirely at the mercy of everyone else. Peter Capaldi's bile-barking Scot is good and has some of the best lines (although many of those lines are overcooked for the sake of the laugh - rather like the Richard Curtis who is the but of one such joke). Ganolfini is a stroke of genius casting and adds glamour to an otherwise TV-fettered film. 6/10
"Climb the mountain of conflict"
posted on 19 Jul 2009The new comedy, In The Loop is gonna become the exact definition of overlooked. While people are seeing bad movies like G-Force, and The Proposal, this gem is only being seen by an extremely limited audience. I saw this in what was basically a sold-out theater. That said, for all the people in this movie, there are 10 people seeing a bad, low-brow, mainstream film. In The Loop is the story of Simon Foster (played excellently by Tom Hollander), a politician who says war is unforeseeable, and is forced to resolve the problem, going as far as having to travel from London to Washington. With the help of his assistant, Toby (Chris Addison), he does his best to resolve the problem. James Gandolfini, an excellent actor, is amusing here as Lt. Gen. George Miller. The two main scene stealers are David Rasche as Linton Barwick, a politician who is against cussing, and Peter Capaldi as Malcolm Tucker, an outrageous, out-of-control politician who could not be more mad at Simon. I am sad to inform In The Loop will be overlooked, and for the people who will see it will probably go see a low-brow mainstream film and totally forget this movie even existed. I suggest, though, for people reading this review, you should go see it, and try to remember it, and if any Oscar noms go to it, pray it will win. You won't be sorry if you go see this little gem.
Ruined by editing (and camera work).
posted on 15 Jul 2009Guessing from parts of the dialog, this film maybe could have been funny but unfortunately I'll never know because I quit after some 30 minutes.The reason being that it has been shot and edited like some "24" or "Bourne Identity" action flick. It's pan, zoom, cut indefinitely with the camera constantly swaying around and a cut basically after each single sentence of dialog. This unfortunately is so totally distracting that it's impossible to follow the story or enjoy any joke.Well, at least we now know that - ten years later so to speak, after this technique has been introduced and massively exploited by Hollywood - UK cinema can "do it too". Unfortunately, they picked a wrong genre piece for proof. Which makes this a total failure I'm afraid.
spineless
posted on 13 Jul 2009I felt slightly saddened and not a little ashamed of the sorry state of affairs in our cinemas watching In the Loop, even though it is well-acted and brilliantly scripted. As a television satire transplanted onto the big screen, it does an admirable job of living up to its tasteless expectations. In a political arena of spin and counter-spin, British and American politicians collude over bringing about an unjustifiable war that looks like Iraq, right down to jokes about hounding someone to an assisted suicide suggestive of the death of David Kelly. What depresses me about a film that, against my better judgement, gave me quite a few laughs, is not the exhumation of the seediness of politics. Nor the unbroken use of creative expletives from the first to the last moment of the movie. It is my own acknowledgement of a powerlessness in British culture that, unlike its European counterpart where public protests can and do influence politics, or the U.S.A. where elections offer real choice. No. We, the British, find consolation for political impotence in the salve of cynicism.In the Loop is a sniggering affirmation of helplessness against ministerial mouthings-off that no-one believes. But it is not a protest movie: it is entertainment. We longer go to the movies to think. Quite the opposite. We go to switch off our intellectual faculties at the end of the day and, accordingly, this is what we get. Where a film that prodded our sensibilities on the issues, forcing us to examine our conscience or come out on one side or the other would have failed at the box-office, In the Loop is a 'runaway success', delighting both the public and its equally anaesthetized critics. Instead of overhauling ministerial responsibility, we will probably give it a Bafta. And go home feeling good about ourselves.Ignoring any serious take, as In the Loop adroitly encourages me to do, one effortlessly portrayed difference that particularly interested me was the cross-Atlantic cultural disparity on swearing. It is on release at a time when the U.S. legal system has just upheld the regulatory board's justification for fining a television company over even a single use of a swear word. Such 'prudery' would be unimaginable to British audiences. The White House lackeys of In the Loop carry this characteristic self-censorship through with considerable humour and effectiveness, battling their British counterparts who find ever more inventive ways to use the f-word and its equivalents.In the Loop is unmistakably British, right down to the lottery funds that enable us to trumpet our foul language to the world and make them laugh. The dialogue would make any comedian reliant on gutter tactics exceedingly proud. Its unceasing and seemingly limitless supply makes any background music redundant, and the makers have wisely omitted such trappings – apart from an old boy –type government face who listens to Debussy and has his finger pressed on the requisite part of the keyboard to delete any criticisms of intended war.If you can afford to spend a couple of hours (including adverts) in the cinema and not worry about where the time went, go and see this film. It will become a timeless 'classic' on DVD and probably adored by an equal number of bleeding hearts ('lefties') who know they can't stop governments bombing people but can delight in 'knowing' better. Cheap shots, intellectual conceit, and the stand-up skill of attacking everyone while upsetting no-one. Whether it is a meritorious film is another matter entirely, but that has never bothered the cinema-paying public. Any more than the countless people killed or tortured in their name.In the Loop is better entertainment than a Labour Party Conference. And much less expensive.
Laughing at fish in a barrel
posted on 29 Jun 2009In the Loop does what sets out to do very well. It mercilessly pokes fun at parts of the political, bureaucratic and military establishments on both sides of the Atlantic.It uses the build up to an Iraq-type invasion to demonstrate how underlings are manipulated and/or discarded so that decisions already made by the people at the very top are justified. Similar territory to "Wag the Dog" then, with extra swear words and a British twist. The only honest character is Malcolm Tucker, the UK Prime Ministers chief spin-doctor. He makes it quite clear that his only interest is to protect his boss, by any means necessary, including bribes, blackmail and any other tools that are at hand. Peter Capaldi relishes chewing the scenery and scaring the children whenever he is on screen. All the other characters shift their position from minute to minute to desperately try to further their future careers. Tom Hollander is excellent as the Minister in the centre of the self inflicted media storm over injudicious comments about an upcoming war. He knows what he should do but really doesn't have the balls to do it.There are some great scenes and dialogue. I enjoyed how the collapsing wall in the minister's house in England intrudes in his efforts to be at the centre of world affairs. Steve Coogan has a nice cameo as the irate neighbour.The film doesn't tell us anything we don't already know. We don't need a report on the decision to invade Iraq to know that nations, statesmen and the people who work under statesmen probably act in their own self interest rather than the best interest of their own country or the world as a whole. Machiavelli told us that some time ago. However it must be a good thing to show us how ridiculous the manoeuvrings of this murky world must be.Plus it was great to see David Rasche (who I've loved since "Sledge Hammer" on TV oh so long ago) in great form as one of the US power brokers.
Fantastic
posted on 27 Jun 2009I got to see this very early at the Newport Film Festival and I loved it, as did the entire audience. The acting was all very well done and mixed the seriousness of the Iraq war perfectly comedy. The actors were all top notch, both that from overseas, and stateside. I felt the need to personally compliment the actors after seeing the film it was just great. I really cannot say much about it to not spoil anything because I feel even the slightest thing could do the trick, but it was truly excellent. I have been telling everyone I can about it and they watched the trailers and are equally pumped to see it. As soon as this thing comes out on DVD/Bluray(hopefully) I'll be right there buying it.
A masterful modern-day satire.
posted on 27 Jun 2009Cinematic comedy is a depressing plane of existence at the moment, mostly consisting of irritating and borderline-misogynist slackers acting like adolescent twits, so whenever a film comes out that manages to generate laughs on an intelligent subject, it must be celebrated. Therefore, allow me to segue into a cliché: If you only see one comedy this year, make it In the Loop, the directorial debut of the great British humorist Armando Iannucci and the spin-off film of The Thick of It, a "West Wing meets The Office" sitcom which hopefully will achieve the stateside recognition it deserves as a result of the picture's release.The film has already received comparisons to Dr. Strangelove, Stanley Kubrick's timeless satire in which the fate of the world rests in the hands of sexually depraved warhawks, and while Iannucci's directing owes more to Christopher Guest than Mr. Kubrick, both films nevertheless cover the madcap behavior of their characters in a disorienting sense of realism. At no point does the film resort to zany musical cues or obnoxious flat lighting to indicate where the laughs are supposed to come. The screenplay is funny enough without those touches, and it successfully revives the art of swearing through some of the most outrageous profanities ever strung together in the English language. In addition, all the actors deliver their instantly quotable one-liners with the utmost sincerity, especially Peter Capaldi as the explosive Malcolm Tucker. Also look out for a marvelous cameo by Steve Coogan as an English citizen complaining about a wall.The sign of an effective satire is how strongly the themes resonate with the viewer after the film ends. This is where Borat failed, because while everyone fell in love with Sacha Baron Cohen's comedic set pieces, the attempted attack on casual racism was undermined by easy targets and gross-out gags. But when the lights came up at the end of the screening, I momentarily forgot that I had been laughing for most of the film's running time. Ultimately, In the Loop isn't just a film about swearing, it's a film about war, and it's held together by Simon Foster, one of the few sincere politicians in the piece. We intimately share his struggle between backing the war – which is in all but name the invasion of Iraq – or taking a stand against it at the risk of his political career. It is this emotional anchor that keeps the humor grounded and allow the more important themes to take center-stage.The less discerning viewer might be put off by a comedy that relies on plot mechanics for its laughs as opposed to witless non-sequiters, but those looking for a little something extra to chew on with their popcorn can't afford to miss what promises to be the smartest and crucially the funniest film of 2009.
Blue Peter
posted on 13 Jun 2009There is are two unwritten rules about Hollywood and British film for the cinema goer. Rule One says that Hollywood is always gauche, swish, unintelligent and awful and that we (the Brits) could do so much better if only we had the 40 trillion to make the film with. Rule Two says that we should not be let near the big toys because we always always face out our American cousins pretend machine guns with a cardboard cutout (ala Blue Peter). Unfortunately, In the Loop completely and utterly proves Rule Two. The actors do a fine job trying but the plot was lazy and dull and was trying to spin out a now well worn political joke that is now hackneyed. The script for 15 minutes of the TV series the West Wing not only would have wiped the floor with this film but probably recycled it as well. Belongs on TV on Sunday night but not after Rory Bremner, then I would have given it a 1. Stay home unless you need the popcorn and a mildly amusing diversion on a wet afternoon and only if you don't' have to pay full price.
A Snarling Mouthful of Iannucci
posted on 28 May 2009In The Loop is another Armando Iannucci thing of wonder. It won't be to every taste, but great things never are. The plot wriggles with more twist than any politician you can think of and the sweary insults flow faster than the champagne at a parliamentary garden party. The writing team can be especially proud, as can the casting agents. Anna Chlumsky was an inspired choice, she is a beauty blessed with a natural ability to act. She will go far. The rest of the cast were superb, with Peter Capaldi stealing the show. If insult was a sport at the Olympics they would just give him the medal now; no one insults better than Malcolm Tucker.This is not a comedy, it is a snarling mouthful of blood stained satire, it is an Iannucci. If you like your comedies with a cheeky grin and ditzy fun In The Loop will leave you disappointed. If you want to belly laugh in disbelief, take notes on how to deal with tricky situations and wonder whether it's actually really like that then you like Iannuccies - so go and watch this film!
Feels like reality or something close to it
posted on 18 May 2009In the loop comments on and makes fun of British politics, the special relationship and the US system of government. Using the lead up to a war in the Middle East, we are given a front row seat to the machinations that take place in the halls of power.British minister Simon Foster(Tom Hollander) makes a comment about the prospect of war being unforseeable and then finds himself sucked into a media vortex. The peaceniks within the State Department and the Pentagon all strive to use him, while the Prime Minister's media thug played by a gloriously profane Peter Capaldi tries to muzzle him. James Gandolfini plays a US general seeking to put the brakes on war machine, but finds himself overwhelmed by the war mongers.You watch in amazement as lies are told and the news is spun/managed.You hope that this is not how government works , but then you compare it with the reality. If you followed the lead up to the war in the Iraq, you could not help notice how much it reflected events in London and Washington from 2002-2003. How many battles did Colin Powell fight with Donald Rumsfeld? I love the way the film makes fun of British politicians who go to Washington all starry eyed. Hilarious! This film should be watched as part of a double bill with Wag the Dog.
wonderfully hilarious political satire
posted on 08 May 2009Politics is no place for fragile egos or people with good intentions. Based on Armando Ianucci's TV series The Thick Of It, this wonderfully hilarious political satire confidently strides into territory that was the preserve of the classic Yes, Minister. It laughs at this world of double speak, lies, spin doctoring, self-interest, bureaucratic bungling, the "national interest", and sycophants. As both the US and British governments shore up their position on declaring war on Iraq, a potential thorn emerges in the form of Stephen Foster (Tom Hollander), a naive and incompetent junior minister, whose impromptu remarks about war being "unforeseeable" threaten to derail the whole process. Both the British and US governments move into damage control. This cleverly scripted and insightful comedy moves between the offices of high-powered ministers in both London and Washington, and even to the Security Council of the UN. Ianucci has shot the film in faux documentary style, a clever artifice that recalls The Office, by placing the audience right in the middle of the political machinations. There are some marvellously laugh out loud moments throughout the film. Peter Capaldi is ferociously funny as Malcolm Turner, the foul-mouthed minister who offends and bullies anyone who stands in his way. Sopranos star James Gandolfini is also very good as the blustering US general I saw this at the Melbourne International Film festival, and In The Loop stood out in a festival that seems dominated by grim and bleak dramas and gory horror.
War of words
posted on 08 May 2009Overpraised due to a lingering hunger here and in England to see our leaders skewered for their muddleheadedness, slavishness to the media, and rush into the Iraq war, this nonetheless hilarious and verbally inventive spin-off from the BBC series "The Thick of It" expanded to a more grandiose scale is not overtly about Iraq or realistically about the run-up to that war but a playful satire hinting at same, and more focused than anything else on political contortions of language and internecine bullying in the corridors of British and American power.This is farcical and blithely unrealistic stuff, and it's the collaboration of two Scots with Italian names, director Armando Iannucci and star Peter Capaldi. As usual with a feature spun off a TV situation comedy this feels blown out, and despite an air of urgency and apocalyptic rage (Capaldi is good at seeming about to have a coronary) there is no significant plot line leading to decisive government action.Central to the action, such as it is, are the vague adjectives and metaphors the media jump upon that can cause policies to shift or heads to roll, more often the latter, especially when an Alpha Male communications officer runs amok in the Prime Minister's office. But that verbiage can cause mole hills to morph into mountains via pure chance rather than calculation may be just an improv comedy crew's wishful thinking. When Donald Rumsfeld said "stuff happens" (the title of English playwright David Hare's realistic and detailed depiction of UK-US cooperation in the Iraq war run-up) or when Condaleeza Rice said "we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud," they knew very well what they were doing.The central character of this film and co-creator of it and of "The Thick of It" is Peter Capaldi, whose incredibly rude, profane and domineering Downing Street Communications Director/spin doctor is loosely based on former Prime Minister Tony Blair's chief strategizer, Alastair Campbell (see Stephen Frears' The Queen). Capaldi's character, Malcolm Tucker, freely orders around cabinet ministers, or weak ones, anyway, and the plot takes off when such a minister, Simon Foster (Tom Hollander) messes up at the end of an interview about dysentery in Africa by replying to an unrelated question about war that it's "unforeseeable." When he hears this Malcolm Tucker goes ballistic because he thinks the word undermines the Government's determinedly neutral stand. If anything Tucker's colorful rage only pushes Simon Foster into the limelight, and asked to clarify his statement, the bumbling junior minister babbles, "in order to walk the road of peace sometimes we have to be ready to climb the mountain of conflict." This goes over very well with US administration hawks such as Rumsfeld-like Linton Barwick (David Rasche), who again is a man who likes to be fussy about words, and is snidely condescending about doing so.In the Loop's rich ironies and (and its appeal, especially in the US) lie especially in the invective and profanity, the sub rosa, behind the scenes talk that prevails among the Alpha Males of government and that we know from the Nixon tapes.Another important theme is political infighting, and Simon Foster's own managerial communications director Judy (Gina McKee) is very angry at the criticism she's suffered from Tucker. Her rival is Foster's new young aide and political adviser Toby (Chris Addison). The gamesmanship ramps up several notches and sexual farce is added when Foster is packed off to DC. There, we find a melting down female US government officer, assistant secretary for diplomacy Karen Clarke (Mimi Kennedy) with a young female aide who is allied politically with a Colin Powell-like dovish General Miller (James Gandlofini). Linton Barwick's aide Chad (Zach Woods) is out to savage Clarke's, the dovish Liza (Anna Chlumsky), who happens to be a college flame of Toby's. Chad scores some very palpable verbal hits against Liza, while nonetheless often appearing a fool. And to tangle the plot even more neatly, Karen and General Miller had a thing once too.All these ties, rivalries, and hostilities are useful for generating farcical interchanges and scene shifts, but again, not so good for developing a drama about affairs of state.This being after all a British comedy (despite spending a lot of time Stateside), Simon Foster's provincial district helps establish further comedic context and the ineffectual minister is further deflated (while ironically retaining his war policy status through his verbal gaffes) when in his Northhampton constituency a well-disguised Steve Coogan nearly brings him down over a crumbling wall, which Coogan's character claims is Foster's neglected responsibility. This gets publicized and Tucker decides to use it to send Foster packing in the PM's name.Finally In the Loop can be reduced to a mass of invective, intrigue, and horseplay. The plot twists are amusing, but none of it would matter much without an almost Shakespearean gift for language dominated by Peter Capaldi's skill at expletive-laden put-downs -- a largely improvisational shtick he also displayed as the father of the lovable loser/sad sack Bristol schoolboy Sid (Mike Bailey), where he really does have a coronary and sits dead in the living room after an evening of bliss. In the Loop is good fun and brilliantly inventive as sheer tangled plotting and nasty verbiage, but it's somehow being greeted as the second coming of high British cinema -- a slight exaggeration. Still, for devotes of English comedy and political satire, it's certainly highly welcome.
Funny, but cynical and rather heartless
posted on 06 May 2009I had a rough idea of what to expect from In The Loop, and unfortunately it really didn't do anything to surprise me.The film implies - well, directly suggests - that everyone associated with government in the UK or US is either a sociopath or a bumbling idiot. The characters depicted are cynical, cold and selfish , incapable of any emotion other than anger. There wasn't really a single sympathetic character to be found.Whilst I'm sure this depiction pleases a certain section of the movie-going public, it surely does not represent any kind of reality. As cynical as I am about government, I think there are probably prisons in small eastern European countries that are less depressing than the working environments depicted here.There was plenty of inventive swearing and terms of abuse - of which I entirely approve - but without a heart, somebody to associate with, it just feels depressing. I'm not entirely sure that's a good thing for a comedy.On the plus side, the acting was largely superb, and the script had plenty of good lines. It just didn't gel for me.
A contemporary version of "Duck Soup"
posted on 22 Apr 2009"In the Loop" reminds me of the Marx Bros' famous anarchic film, "Duck Soup" in which the fictional country "Fredonia" goes to war on the most spurious and superficial pretext. It's really going to war for the sake of going to war. Of course, total insanity prevails, as the four (including Zeppo) Marx Bros. make total chaos rule. If you enjoyed "in the Loop" you should make it your business to see "Duck Soup". It should be readily available at your local library or from Netflix. The Marx Brothers, whose films were very popular from the early 1930's to the mid-forties, specialized in deflating the pompous and rigid authority figures, i.e: the opera manager, head doctor or professor. With the wonderful supporting actors they used, especially Margtaret Dumont as Groucho's main foil, sheer madness always prevailed.
It's a long time since I've seen a money this funny...
posted on 22 Apr 2009This is not a movie for those looking for the cosy delusional homilies and self congratulatory tributes to politicians of something like Yes Minister, it's vulgar, raw, enticing. An excellent comedy that never lets a moment pass without something to amuse, whilst being painfully poignant at the same time. In the build up to war, the UK government conspires to provide made up intelligence to the US to justify an act of war... sound familiar? Really, really, really funny and those who claim Yes Minister and it's ilk are superior, or more representative of what goes on in the 'corridors of power', aren't living in the real world. Critics who compare this to 'The Thick of It': remember, if this movie includes the same characters it's obviously set before the events of 'in the loop', hence we might expect them to be more energetic, rawer and ... well swear a lot. I'm not sure the pacing of TToI would have worked in movie form and it's nice to see that the writers were able to translate the basic idea to a successful movie, unlike so many TV adaptations which have fallen flat on their faces.
Not worth seeing.
posted on 22 Apr 2009I lost the plot of this film after ten minutes. I never picked up the thread again. It looked cheap and had the feel of a second rate TV show. Nowhere near as good as In the Thick of It. The sets were all wrong and the lighting was poor. It was all shot indoors too. Tedious to watch.Foul, disgusting language throughout and the big ex-Soprano guy was a total disappointment. Who wants to watch some woman's teeth bleeding. Found that scene revolting! My friends seemed to enjoy it but then they are a dull bunch and also enjoy nonsense like "The Good Life".Couldn't they have waited for a day when the builders were not outside Number 10 before shooting the Downing Street scene. Very shoddy.Not a movie I would recommend. I'm glad I went on the cheap night at my local cinema!
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Laugh out loud satire on the the US/UK realpolitik over the Iraq war
posted on 24 Aug 2009Political satires! Loads of them on the tele, but few and far between in the cinema. "In the loop" is a combination of both, taking a UK satirical comedy onto the big screen for an international audience. Centres around the decision to go to war, where one faction is fighting against conflict whilst another is trying to pull the strings to get the decision their way.The humour is crude as can be, but there were few if any not laughing in this vicious comedy where no one is left unscathed. The show stealer is Peter Capaldi as the spin doctor-cum-political thug Michael Tucker who leads the charge for the vote to goto war, pulling whatever strings he can whilst scything down all in his way. Ably supported in the film by Mimi Kennedy, Tom Hollander, David Rasche and James Gondolfini, you have a large cast who just keep cranking up the pressure, tension and humour.Who is this going to appeal to? Well, if you don't like swearing, crude humour or black humour, then you'll switch this off after just a few minutes. As for the rest of us, if you want a very dark humorous political satire then this is for you. There's lots to think about along the way, and it can be a real poke in the eye for modern realpolitik, but there are moments of respite along the way. Recommended.