Anyone trying to sell a movie will tell you that they will do anything to get people in the theater. I was first intrigued by this film’s poster (of all things), and then upon reading about the movie, I was interested in the ample amount of swearing featured in the film. Whatever it was, I was excited to seen In The Loop and it did not disappoint.
In The Loop is a political (if you will) comedy that includes both British and American humor. The U.S President and the U.K. Prime Minister are both interested in a war. On the U.S. side, General Miller (played very well by James Gandolfini) and on the U.K. side, the Prime Minister’s top “spin-doctor,” Malcolm Tucker (played perfectly by Peter Capaldi) both think war is a terrible idea and use their best qualities to try and make the vote go their way: General Miller with his presence and Malcolm Tucker with his “persuasive” language. It takes a turn for the worse when the immature, bumbling Secretary of State for Internal Development, Simon Foster (Tom Hollander) accidentally backs a war in an interview. Now, political advisers from the U.S. and U.K. are running around trying to put a stop to a war before the official vote is taken. Foster and his new assistant, Toby (Chris Addison) travel to the United States for what they think will be a successful trip for their careers, but only ends up being a barrage of mishaps and failures. Tucker is not far behind trying to patch up things up wherever the destructive Simon Foster just came from.
All this talk of war and politics sounds quite serious, but the film is anything but. The mishaps and confusion make the film unique as well as interesting. It is shot in a “documentary style” (shaky camera, long takes, close ups), which actually makes you feel nervous when you’re put in a room full of political advisers talking about war. But once someone cracks a joke, you realize what was just said, laugh, and feel relaxed again. The dialogue is fast-paced, vulgar, and very smart. Each character is written to perfection and I never questioned if something was written or spoken out of character. Malcolm Tucker was always vulgar, but the voice of reason, Simon Foster always mumbled and spoke in questions, and Toby was always feeding Simon answers (even though he never listened). By the time of the climax, you’ve spent so much time and energy following these characters that you’re really concerned over the outcome of the final vote and everyone’s political career to follow. There’s a small plot twist in middle of the film that I found humorous, but had no idea it’d be the key by the end of the film.
For me, Peter Capaldi and Chris Addison provided most of the laughs. I looked forward to every scene that Capaldi was in because I knew it would be an instant classic. His character was spot on in every scene and never disappointed. Addison played Toby very well as a “scared young man” in the U.K. office and a person on the wrong end of a conversation with Tucker (Toby is referred to as “the baby from Eraserhead” at one point). But in Washington D.C., Toby is the smarter one and someone Simon Foster should be listening to. James Gandolfini did a good job playing the Lt. Gen. George Miller. His character was very well spoken, respected, and wise. His point of view is that he’s already been to war and he doesn’t want to go back (“like France” in his words). One scene with Gandolfini that had my in tears was when him and U.S. political adviser Karen Clark (Mimi Kennedy) hide away in a children’s room of a house to talk about the situation at hand. They sit on the host’s daughter’s bed, use construction paper to scribble down notes and a children’s calculator that won’t stop making noise, to crunch numbers.
Director Armando Iannucci’s success is mirrored through his actors. He directed them extremely well by bringing out what he wanted, but harnessing the emotions to make everything seem believable and realistic. He has taken the uproarious script provided by himself, and a slew of other writers, and made it his own. With the simple cinematography, complex script, and crucial acting, it is impossible not give credit to Iannucci for bringing this film together. Whether you’re into politics, you like independent films, or you just enjoy seeing people yelling at each other and hilarity ensue, In The Loop will have you scratching your head and laughing out loud.
P.S. Steve Coogan makes a riotous cameo. It might not look like him, but it is.
