VICE:
CHRISTIAN BALE’S TRANSFORMATION INTO THE INFAMOUS VICE PRESIDENT IS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THIS DISJOINTED BUT ENTERTAINING BIOPIC!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: *** out of 4
ANNAPURNA PICTURES
Christian Bale (The Dark Knight trilogy, The Fighter, American Hustle) goes from Caped Crusader to “Dick” in the White House in the new biographical comedy-drama, Vice. The film is written and directed by Adam McKay (Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Step Brothers, The Big Short) and produced by previous collaborators Brad Pitt (Inglourious Basterds, Moneyball, The Big Short) and Will Ferrell (Anchorman 1 and 2, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, The Other Guys), chronicling the career of Dick Cheney and his desire to become the most powerful vice president in American history.
It looked interesting judging by the trailer and there’s no denying that Bale’s transformation into Cheney is truly incredible. The movie looked an awful lot like McKay’s previous film, The Big Short which was a comedic perspective on real-life people and situations, so would it just be The Big “Dick” or is there something more to Vice?
I’m glad to say that Vice is not The Big Short with Dick Cheney, though it does follow in its footsteps in its writing, directing, and execution in certain places. With a 4th wall breaking narrator, sudden pauses, on-screen text, and transitions to news footage, it’s easy to make comparisons to The Big Short but it’s still able to stand tall on its own.
The film is narrated by a fictitious veteran of the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars named Kurt (Jesse Plemons-Black Mass, Bridge of Spies, The Post), and tells the story of Dick Cheney (Bale) and how he went from a bureaucratic Washington insider to the most powerful man in the world as Vice-President to George W. Bush (Sam Rockwell-Moon, Iron Man 2, The Way, Way Back), reshaping the United States as well as the entire planet in ways that are still felt today. Several moments in Cheney’s life are depicted in the film such as working as an economic adviser to President Donald Rumsfeld (Steve Carell-Anchorman 1 and 2, The Office, The Big Short) at the White House during the Nixon Administration, overhearing Henry Kissinger (Kirk Bovill-Get on Up, 20th Century Women, Free State of Jones) and Richard Nixon discussing the secret bombing of Cambodia, and when he rose to the position of White House Chief of Staff for President Gerald Ford (Bill Camp-Birdman, The Leftovers, Molly’s Game) all the while balancing his social life with his wife, Lynne Cheney (Amy Adams-The Fighter, DC Extended Universe, American Hustle).
During the Clinton era, Cheney is invited to become the running man for George W. Bush during the 2000 Presidential Election and recognizes that Bush is more interested in pleasing his father over attaining power to himself. Cheney accepts under the agreement that Bush will leave all “mundane” executive responsibilities like energy and foreign policy to him.
As Vice President, Cheney works with Secretary of Defense, Rumsfeld, legal counsel, David Addington (Don McManus-Magnolia, Air Force One, Boston Legal), and Chief of Staff, Scooter Libby (Justin Kirk-Angels in America, Weeds, Molly’s Game) to exercise key foreign policy and defense decisions throughout Washington. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Cheney and Rumsfeld direct the US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, escalating the War on Terror with Cheney struggling with persistent heart attacks and tensions between his family over same-sex marriage when his daughter, Mary (Allison Pill-Milk, Scott Pilgrim VS the World,Midnight in Paris) comes out as gay.
The film also stars Tyler Perry (Madea franchise, Precious, Gone Girl) as Colin Powell, LisaGay Hamilton (12 Monkeys, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, The Soloist) as Condoleezza Rice, Stephen Adly Guirgis (Meet Joe Black, Blackbird, Synecdoche, New York) as George Tenet, Shea Whigham (Boardwalk Empire, Fast & Furious 4 and 6, Kong: Skull Island) as Wayne Vincent, Eddie Marsan (V for Vendetta, Mission: Impossible III, Sherlock Holmes 1 and 2) as Paul Wolfowitz, Stefania LaVie Owen (Running Wilde, The Carrie Diaries, Chance) as Joan, Adam Bartley (Longmire, Annabelle: Creation, Under the Silver Lake) as Frank Luntz, Jillian Armenante (Judging Amy, Girl, Interrupted, Hail, Caesar!) as Karen Hughes, Lily Rabe (The Merchant of Venice, American Horror Story, The Whispers) as Liz Cheney, Fay Masterson (Eyes Wide Shut, The Last Ship, Fifty Shades 2 and 3) as Edna Vincent, Alfred Molina (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Spider-Man 2, Love is Strange) as the Waiter, Naomi Watts (The Ring, I Heart Huckabees, King Kong (2005) as a New Anchor, and Paul Perri (Hellraiser: Bloodline, Smallville, Battlestar Galactica) as Trent Lott.
Overall, Vice is a very amusing journey into the life of one of the most controversial figures in American history. Granted, it does take a lot of hits at political figures and it can get a little old after a while, but the majority of them hit bullseye and they’re done in a funny and intelligent way.
Even though the film is very humorous, it still makes time for its dramatic moments which hit just as hard. There are scenes depicting terrorist attacks and prisoners being tortured that get really disturbing at times, Cheney suffering heart attacks, and his daughter fighting for her gay rights despite her sister disapproving it, they never feel out of place and these types of incidents are still happening to this very day.
This is a very flawed movie, but what makes it truly shine is the performance by Christian Bale as Cheney. He goes full Daniel Day-Lewis and transforms himself into the real person with his appearance, voice, and mannerisms it’s almost eerie at how legit it is, I sense a Best Actor nomination coming.
Of course, the supporting cast is just as strong, particularly Amy Adams, Sam Rockwell, and Steve Carell’s performances. Adams as Lynne is an interesting detour from the characters she usually portrays but she plays the part very well, Rockwell as Bush is hilarious in concept as well as in the movie, and Carell as Rumsfeld is like an angry, vulgar version of his Michael Scott character from The Office.
Vice doesn’t quite live up to McKay’s previous film, The Big Short, but like this year’s Green Book, it’s a funny and entertaining journey in some heavy subject matter done in a witty, clever way. I can recommend Vice just by Bale’s performance alone as the White House “Dick”.
From the blog www.moviewatchinpsychopath.blogspot.com
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