In The Loop (2009): Might As Well Laugh

In The Loop is a bitingly funny political satire that somehow slipped under the radar in the US when it was released a couple years ago (although it was well reviewed by movie critics at the time). It is kind of a cross between The Office and The West Wing  -  British style. The movie is witty, goofy, pithy, and insightful. It will make you laugh; though it may leave you a little depressed as well. The Dark Side can be very powerful, my friend.

Imagine a time when in both the US and the UK there is a drumbeat for war, although the reasons for going to war are hazy and perhaps not very convincing. Imagine that there are good guys and bad guys, with the good guys trying to inject rationality and factual reality into the debate, and the bad guys just trying to win by whatever means necessary. And finally, imagine that the bad guys have the upper hand. Sound familiar? This is the milieu in which In the Loop is set.

Although echoes of January through March 2003 are clear, George W. Bush, Tony Blair, WMD, and the country of Iraq are never mentioned in this film. Instead, we get a glimpse of the political maneuvering just below the head of state level in both the UK and the American governments. The initial focus is on a clueless, nearly imbecilic British minister named Simon Foster (Tom Hollander). Coming out of the meeting, he bungles a question about the prospects of a war ("war is unforeseeable"), and then further sticks his foot in it when trying to explain what he meant (“There is a plane in the fog. A mountain is there and … it is unforeseeable.”). We meet his staff - including Judy (Gina McKee), the imperturbable communications secretary, a civil servant who has seen ministers come and go; and Toby (Chris Addison), the new political assistant, young, naïve, ambitious - as they try to "position" their boss to stay out of trouble yet gain more power.

We also soon meet one of the great comic villains of recent years, Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi). Malcolm is apparently the PM’s right-hand man, his enforcer. He is on Simon like a collie on a flock of sheep. A very angry, foulmouthed  Scotsman of a collie. Malcolm is a conniving bully. He does not cajole, he threatens. He will not be denied. He also cannot utter two sentences without spewing a string of creative, expletive laden imprecations. The PM, it seems, is intent on war, and is looking for allies and stalking horses. Simon can be useful, and Malcolm is there to ensure that he doesn’t screw things up.

In the US, Assistant Secretary of State Karen Clark (Mimi Kennedy) and her ally Gen. George Miller (James Gandolfini) are concerned about the Administration’s not so secret intentions for a war, and are trying to stop it. Kennedy has a laugh out loud scene involving, of all things, bleeding gums; both she and Gandolfini have some very witty lines. They, too, are seeking to enlist Simon to their cause. Opposing them is Linton Barwick (David Rasche), sort of a cross between Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, and Karl Rove, played here as a smug, imperious, supercilious politico. Like Malcolm, Linton Barwick is a know-it -all, although he does not get as much screen time as his British counterpart. As a cute counterpoint to Malcolm, Linton dislikes profanity (in speech, that is; his motives and actions are certainly vulgar).

Because Simon is essentially a cipher, there's no telling how or why he will be swayed or what he will do. But, of course, we  already know how the debate will turn out. And if we know the sad story, how can this be funny? Umm, ever see Dr. Strangelove? A little exaggeration can go a long way.

I don't know how to describe a comedy in a way that can convey why it's funny. Here, the situation is obviously, darkly, absurd (just as it was in real life). Throw in believable yet slightly off kilter characters, large and small, imaginatively witty dialogue, a few slapstick situations, a clever screenplay, plus a deft director (Armando Ionucci), and voila! Oh, and some finely etched, comic performances.

Tom Hollander, who we last saw as the weird psychopathic killer Isaacs in Hanna, is terrific here as the out-of-his-depth dufus, with a deer-in-the-headlights mien. Gandolfini and Kennedy, as the well intentioned Americans, do a great job of lampooning their characters while still somehow ‘representing’ the good guys. The villains, as I have noted, are a delight. Minor characters also contribute. For example, the British UN Ambassador, Sir Jonathan Tutt (Alex MacQueen), is very high tone, old-school Oxbridge, and proper as he explains to Malcolm why protocol prevents him from even asking for a Security Council vote to be advanced a couple of hours; but after a typical Malcolm tongue lashing, we next see him doing just that at the meeting. (One of Malcolm's tamer threats: "Just fucking do it! Otherwise you'll find yourself in some medieval war zone in the Caucasus with your arse in the air, trying to persuade a group of men in balaclavas that sustained sexual violence is not the fucking way forward!"). And then there is Jamie McDonald (Paul Higgins), kind of like Malcolm’s Mini-Me, a doppelgänger who spews his venom almost as well (right down to the Scottish tilt), and as humorously, as his master.

I recommend this picture highly. However, if you are offended by strong language, it may not be your f-ing cup of tea.

Available on DVD and from Netflix.