In the Loop

In the Loop was released in Canada on September 5, 2009. The face you will recognize in the cast is James Gandolfini of The Sopranos fame. He is surrounded by several English actors including Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander and Gina McKee.

In the Loop is a dark political satire at its absolute finest. The story revolves around British and American politicians debating whether to go to war. The humor revolves around the intel that informs the debate. The funniest part may indeed be the potential resemblance to some real moments in collaborations between the UK and the US.

This is a relatively unknown British film, and I watched and reviewed it based on its Oscar nomination for Adapted Screenplay. The language is most unpleasant. It is crude and foul for a solid 90% of the film. If you can get past that, what is left over is one tee-totally brilliant screenplay. The one-liners are constant, and the witty dialogue comes at a fabulous pace that will leave you snickering. While it has the classic low-key, understated style of the Brits, the script is entirely too clever for the viewer to entertain boredom. The only drawback may be that about three-quarters in the relentless satire starts to get old. Overdoing things is a bit of a theme in this year's contenders... see District 9 and Inglourious Basterds. I'm delighted with this nomination, but a win is unlikely based on the popularity factor. A shame, really. I am still longing for a day when the Academy awards a movie based simply on its merits rather than marketing.

In the Loop is not your classic pop culture movie. But it is a very sharp screenplay that will give you a few laughs at the expense of government officials everywhere.