3.5/5
Vice follows Dick Cheney’s career through the White House to his pinnacle as the highly influential and powerful Vice-President under the Bush administration. The film focuses mainly on Cheney’s thirst for power and how events, such as the war on terror, were used to justify absolute presidential power through the Unitary Executive Theory.
Similarly to McKay’s last venture, ‘Vice’ uses satirical editing to convey complicated plot points and background information. It is full of 4th wall breaks including a delightful scene at a restaurant where Cheney and associates are selecting policies from a menu and a Shakespearean dialogue scene between Cheney and wife Lynne. As with ‘The Big Short’ this technique is engaging, entertaining and often very amusing, even if the subject matter is truly terrifying. However, one of problems of the film is that this style does somewhat lessen the impact of the final act at which point Cheney has become such a pantomime villain that the film loses some thread of belief. It is also not intrinsically as funny as ‘The Big Short’ and whilst there are plenty of funny moments, there are no proper laugh out loud lines.
The third act also becomes a little convoluted as the film tries to tie more and more plot points and unfortunately loses some direction as Cheney’s motivation and direct involvement aren’t truly explained. The film at this point almost turns into a ‘what can we blame Cheney for’ to the point where it starts to lose any impact. This is where the film truly falters. One of the overarching successes of ‘The Big Short’ was how the ending had a real sucker punch and human feel to it. Steve Carrel’s Mark Baum realising with horror how, despite making millions, the economy had collapsed and Brad Pitt scolding the two young investors for celebrating, stand out as moments that the film really hit its target and unfortunately those moments are never quite matched in Vice.
The biggest strength of the film is its cast. Amy Adams playing Lynne Cheney is truly intimidating, Steve Carell brings his usual charm and charisma to the screen and Sam Rockwell is utterly believable as the hapless George W. Bush. It is no surprise that the supporting cast feature heavily in the Oscar nomination list. It is, however, Christian Bale’s performance as the title character that really makes this film worth a watch. Never an actor to shy away from a body transformation, Bale spends the film adorned in a large amount of prosthetics and make up (itself nominated for an Oscar) and his mannerisms and speech are brilliant throughout. By the end of the film you will not quite believe that the mouth stretching, heavy breathing and lip smacking are all acting and not Bale’s own idiosyncrasies.
Overall McKay has produced another interesting semi-biographical satire piece that looks to enlighten the average movie goer to some of the more delicate moments of recent history. Ultimately the success of ‘The Big Short’ and the direct comparison to this film and its style, is its downfall. The film isn’t as funny as ‘The Big Short’ and doesn’t have the same human feel that made that film brilliant. It is however worth going to see for the brilliant acting and some well executed pieces.
Hughes Reviews 