In The Loop
The Thick Of It was one of the great British sitcoms of the past few years; a delightfully sweary, horrifyingly accurate portrayal of Westminster's collection of dishonest spinners, inept handwashers and wet-behind-the-ears Oxbridge graduates. However, the true genius of the show lay in the excellent script and in Peter Capaldi's Malcolm Tucker, a delightfully foul-mouthed Scotsman whose fine blend of Machiavellian nous and terrifying aggression made him one of my favourite comedy characters, full stop.
It was with some excitement then that I watched In The Loop, a cross-Atlantic political film inspired by the series, with much of the writing staff and actors from the original The Thick Of It involved. Naturally, there was some apprehension. Film adaptations of comedies are notoriously hit-and-miss: can the film keep up the high standards of comedy when the writers are used to episode length material? Will the formula become tired over two hours? Most importantly, will the characters and situations be as engaging as a film demands to make it interesting and watchable?
Happily, In The Loop manages to overcome the challenges above whilst using the medium of the cinema to provide something different. Although not deviating massively from the formula of the TV series, the change of location to partly include Washington is a welcome and crucial move. The fairly topical plot (US politician wants war in Middle East; backstabbing, maneouvering and tears follow) is simple but believable and a whole lot is made of it. In correspondence with this most cynical of stories, the production is decidedly anti-West Wing; all traces of boombasticity and pomp are removed, exposing the political worlds of London and Washington as underhanded dens of iniquity ruled by the swift and uncompromising. Barack Obama, and most politicians for that matter, would not be impressed.
Being a political comedy/drama, it is the script where the film must shine and it does so brilliantly. The inventive swearing is gratuitous but never gratingly so; it is generally refreshing to watch a film where swearing is a comedic device but never to the extent it seems forced. The script also excels in propelling the plot, with the relatively dry subject material never short of engrossing and completely realistic. The real star of the film is Capaldi's Malcolm Tucker, who makes any scene his own and genuinely inspires fear in everyone he meets. This is not to discredit the other characters, with Tom Hollander excellent as the hapless MP inadvertently swept along in events due to an off-hand remark; the return of Chris Addison as his bumbling assistant and James Smith as his Conservative opposite number are very much welcome. James Gandolfini, David Rasche and Mimi Kennedy also are well cast, seamlessly playing their American counterparts and providing familiar stereotypes whilst also producing characters who are genuinely interesting and never bit-part. Watch out for Steve Coogan's belly-laugh inducing cameo as a disgruntled 'member of the public'.
To summarise, there are no major weaknesses to this film. Every line is well written and delivered by a good cast, the plot is spot-on and it's a refreshing antidote to the tiresome spin thrust upon us every day by those in Government. As comedies go, it is smarter than the majority but nonetheless accessible if you just want to laugh at some of the best swearing this side of (removed as I could not think of anything which has as good swearing as this).
I hope you watch and enjoy.
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Topic: wombat tries to watch movies again (Read 99790 times)