In the Loop (2009)

[randy_byers]

This would make for a very strange double-bill as the opener for The Hurt Locker. It is a satire from the British perspective of the push toward war in 2003. As a satire, it is about a collection of very bad, if all too human, people. Vanity, stupidity, cupidity, oneupmanship, sycophancy, and careerism rule the day. Alas, it feels realistic in a

Comments

[mlamprey]

I saw this a couple months back--it's brilliant. It helps if you already know the characters from the TV series (The Thick of It), but it's not mandatory. Still, almost everything Armando Iannucci is behind is worth investigating.

Meanwhile, here's an awesome poster for In The Loop based on the Obama image:

http://topazbean.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/no-you-fucking-cant.jpg

[randy_byers]

Ah, you see, I didn't know it came from a TV series. Guess that explains why it looks like a TV show, eh? Anyway, it worked fine as a stand-alone story for me.

Regarding the poster, I guess I should have mentioned that this movie has more undeleted expletives per square inch than anything I've seen in a while.

[the_gardener]

I guess I should have mentioned that this movie has more undeleted expletives per square inch than anything I've seen in a while.

How would you react if I told you that it had fewer expletives per half-hour than the TV series from which it derives?

Presumably this is a consequence of the film being made with an eye on the US market, but on TV Tucker's every other word is "fucking". And we're talking prime time, after-the-watershed, grown-up adult drama here!

[randy_byers]

You guys truly are more civilized than we are.

Not that I'm on a downer or anything

[liveavatar]

I saw these movies just a couple of days apart from each other, so it was nearer to a double bill than usual.

Your point is well taken about the realism of In The Loop. In fact, it heartened me in a way. It mirrored enough things I've seen going on in my own social circle recently that it helped me take a step back from some things that really irritated me: it's not just that my particular irritants are morons, it's that moronosity is everywhere and one must deal.

The fluidity and fluency of the cursing cheered me up too. I've always been a fan of good vitriol. The showdown between Peter Capaldi's and James Gandolfini's characters *almost* disappointed in that regard -- at first I expected huge gouts of florid language from the two of them, but then I realized they'd taken each other's measure and were using a style more appropriate to equals.

Re: Not that I'm on a downer or anything

[randy_byers]

The scene between Capaldi and Gandolfini is really interesting. It's the one time anyone really punches Capaldi as hard as he punches, but yeah, nobody wins. (Speaking only of verbal punches. There's also the scene where Capaldi is humiliated by the David Rasche character, but that's a different kind of abuse.)

Re: Not that I'm on a downer or anything

[the_gardener]

I expected huge gouts of florid language from the two of them, but then I realized they'd taken each other's measure and were using a style more appropriate to equals.

Much of the dialogue in the film, as in the TV series, is unscripted -- the actors are told what their characters are intended to be like, and build it up from there. (Peter Capaldi's Malcolm Tucker is a near-clone of Alistair Campbell, although Campbell has repeatedly tried to claim otherwise.)

Re: Not that I'm on a downer or anything

[randy_byers]

One thing I wondered as I watched the film is that the two most vituperous, vicious characters are Scotsman. Is this considered a stereotype in Britain?

[reverendjim]

Yet another film I managed to miss at the cinema. Though I was counting on it not losing too much on TV (which you also suggest) and it turning up fairly quickly as it's got BBC money in it.
Apparently although it features some of the same characters as The Thick Of It there are also several other actors from that who are playing new characters in the film.
It's the UK swearing challenger to Deadwood.

Oh, and if you can track it down I heartily recommend the short film from some years ago, Franz Kafka's It's A Wonderful Life, written and directed by Peter Capaldi. Worth it for the name alone.

[randy_byers]

Wow, that truly is an impressive title. According to Amazon it was released on videotape over here, but they don't know of any DVD. IMDb says it won an Academy Award for best short film.

[reverendjim]

Looks like it is available from Amazon on DVD.
It's been a while since I've seen it and it's only a short so I wouldn't hugely recommend it. But keep an eye out for it anyway.

[randy_byers]

I might be able to find it at the local video rental shop.