Vice

Released 25th December 2018, Vice follows the political career of Dick Cheney; the Vice President to George W. Bush (43rd President of the USA). Director / writer Adam McKay enables the story and its, naturally, political points to be accessible to its audience by utilising simplistic activities to represent executive decisions. Despite this often lofty tone however the film does not shy away from the eventual pitfalls during Bush’s presidency; notably 9/11 and the subsequent ‘War on Terror’. These events are frequently grounded through real world footage, established connection to civilian characters and the actors reacting far more seriously than the rest of the film would let on.

And the actors in this film deserve to be noted. Steve Carrell is great as Cheney’s friend Donald Rumsfeld and the character of George W. Bush enables Sam Rockwell to bring his usual charm whilst also conveying Bush’s renowned inexperience in his field. Amy Adams is also fantastic as Lynne Cheney, Dick’s husband, alongside the very genuine performances from Alison Pill & Lily Rabe as Mary & Liz Cheney, Dick’s daughters. As for Dick, he is brought to life by the phenomenal Christian Bale. Whilst greatly helped by the makeup department’s prosthetic body mass, Bale is unrecognisable as he transforms on screen into Dick Cheney.

The film opts not to use much music or soundtrack which, whilst unable to talk about it, never detracts from the film. You are always engaged through the character’s natural interactions, witty writing and fresh directorial choices by McKay. Much in the same ilk of McKay’s other real-life inspired film, The Big Short, McKay adopts several visual strategies to convey ideas and plot-points. A notable example is when Cheney explains his strategic placement of loyal politicians across Washington with Papier-Mache backdrops and ‘Guess-Who’-like picture frames. Overall the film manages to keep its audience engaged despite its complicated, and sometimes dark, source material.