I love stories of politics as theaterthe stagecraft, scripting, wardrobe choices, and focus group testing of absurd commercials. The pacing is. Sandra Bullock and Billy Bob Thornton go head to head as strategists in a patchy satire about the 2002 Bolivian elections. From that day on, she says, our brand is crisis.. When shes recruited for a chance to face off in Bolivia against her longtime and similarly depraved rival, Pat Candyportrayed convincingly enough as a stock Billy Bob Thornton character by Billy Bob Thorntonshe signs up. Once a political idealist, she increasingly was a strategist for hire outwardly not caring about the actual politics of her boss. A lethally effective charm delivery system, Sandra Bullock doesn't need to do much to win you over. Even worse, it turns out to be a humanist, socialist, anti-capitalist message about "the people" rising up to establish some sort of vague communist brotherhood centered . And while the role of Calamity Jane smacks of Sandra Bullocks brandingthe smart but painfully self-conscious klutz whos also a depressiveits a complicated, maybe even feminist shtick. The interviewer says shes been known by many names, most notably Calamity Jane. Policy doesnt even enter into the conversation; its more about scoring points by making your opponent look like a Nazi sympathizer simply by virtue of a doctored photograph. It also sets up a Hollywood ending that all but wrecks the movie. He cant reconcile that her success also makes her a bad person. Besser. Bush strategist Lee Atwater, who by his own reported deathbed admission was an unholy monster, and to this day keeps afloat the brand of George W. Bush strategist Karl Rove. But every once in a while, you come across a movie that seems to be driving an evil message all the way through, and then suddenly the ending takes a moral turn and shows that the protagonists were wrong. The insistent, intrusive music score by David Wingo doesnt help matters, and neither do the too-many subsequent montages, all of which are of the always mistaken We Need A Montage variety. It's a case study, if nothing else, of starting with a dubious idea and making it downright awful. Hollywood loves it some Ragin Cajun, because hes the closest real-life approximation to the magical political consultant of its dreams. To handle this scandal, Castillo is interviewed on TV and explains it was a visit to his son, who IS a member of the cult, and he had to wear the robe. : What The Hell Happened? It already has. [9] On October 10, Joaquim de Almeida and Zoe Kazan joined the cast, with Almeida playing Castillo, the former president of Bolivia, and Kazan playing a young woman who finds dirt on political candidates. She gives him a bottle of Paul Newman Steak Sauce. So yes, throughout the film, the protagoniststhe ones portrayed as good guysuse communistic propaganda. An young actress expresses concern with her part in the ad, which requires her to be caught by Castillo. The film is directed by David. When it does, Jane moons the Rivera bus. Jane says its just a carousel and she was going around and around. Well, that would be you and me both before and after. [6] On September 15, Billy Bob Thornton joined the film,[7] and on September 18, Anthony Mackie joined the cast. At another meeting with advisors, its revealed the crisis message is working, but not so well that it will win the election. Maybe Carville and the Clintonocracy were empowering democracy after all, even if it wasnt quite the variety they intended. While Rivera is still speaking aboard a train, Jane poses as a worker for the Rivera campaign and tells the conductor the speech is over. And even hes not even that close. You want to know how the Janes of the world happen. Calamity Jane Bodine (Bullock) was a vaunted political strategist, but the emotional toll of the campaigns coupled with substance abuse problems forced her into early retirement where she may not be happy, but shes grateful that shes calm. By Manohla Dargis. Back on the bus, Castillo explain to Eddie that an effective leader is a father to the people, and that sometimes a father must be strict. 1h 47m. This is a competent film that shows how foxy political campaigns can be. for language including some sexual references. But once in Bolivia, shes sidelined by acute altitude sickness (the flight down is accompanied by a primer on the geography and general stressed disposition of the place), and hence unable to immediately show her Sun-Tzu-informed genius to uptight candidate Castillo (Joaquim de Almeida). She just needs to hear him deny it. The story follows a political strategist who's recruited to help the campaign of a Bolivian presidential. [2/4], Sandra Bullock is the best part of this wobbly farce As a look at the state of the art of political campaigning (in the US as well as in Bolivia), Our Brand Is Crisis does not cut particularly deep and the ending isnt great. Played for laughs? It begins poorly, with an odd montage intercut to stagey interview footage in which Bullocks character, Calamity Jane Bodine, formulates an apologia for we-dont-quite-know-what. The real meat of the comedy, and drama, comes in the ingenious dirty tricks that Candy and Bodine play on each other, which could kick off a primer on the political practice recently known as rat-f**king (although that phrase is never uttered in the film). The boys (all adult age) are living alone because their parents have both died. It is revealed that she retired after violating election laws. Castillo had been coached by Jane that if he senses any emotion or tears, to look directly into the camera. OUR BRAND IS CRISIS NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jason The film starts with Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) being interviewed. There are too many balls in the air, too many uncontrollable outside factors, for any singular figure to get all of this under control, be 10 steps ahead of the curve, and successfully and confidently blaze a trail from pre-candidacy to election to dignified leadership. Some said it was insightful. Our Brand is Crisis hits a lot of clunky notes and the end is unforgivably cornball, but it's still one of the liveliest political black comedies I've seen in a while. Its educational and leaves you with serious thoughts about political power. When Bodine realizes that she brought a liar into office, she has the car stopped and leaves to join Eduardo. Cyril Ramaphosa's ANC Renew22 grouping believes Eastern Cape . This password will be used to sign into all, Okay, TikTok, You Can Calm Down About Aubrey Plaza at the SAG Awards Now, All 165 Pink Floyd Songs Ranked, From Worst to Best. It is only the knowing, salty political consultant who can bridge the gap between political reality and tidy fictional narrative. He has written for a host of other publications and resides in Brooklyn. Right before the debate with the 3 leading candidates, Jane is sitting alone in the lecture hall, reading Faust by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, and is soon joined by Candy. Realizing that her candidate, Senator Castillo (Joaquim de Almeida) cant win by being likable, they decide to use fear as their issue, sell that Bolivia is a nation in crisis, and hes the only many that can save it. The film starts with Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) being interviewed. Sometimes its both, as in Kathy Bates sharp-tongued, soft-hearted adviser in Primary Colors. This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. Its very obvious when shes going to do it, so it would be easy for viewers to close their eyes until all the yelling and laughter dies down. Finally, she meets with Castillo for their first conversation. Someone smashes an egg on Castillo, who spectacularly punches the assailant. After this incident, however, Castillo shows the other side of him by being kind to protesters who throw rocks at his bus. Let me know how that goes. Jane then joins the mass of people who are walking toward the city. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive email correspondence from us. Afterwards, Jane sends 3 Bolivian singers to show up at Candys door. Jane is goaded by patronizing men into proving herself in ways shes not proud of. Election day. At a Rivera campaign stop, Jane is seen talking to Candy. On a campaign bus heading toward a remote Bolivia location on a small dirt road, they discover Riveras bus is directly ahead of them. Goni fled the country five days later, and now lives in exile in the U.S., which has refused to extradite him to Bolivia to face trial for extrajudicial killings and other crimes against humanity. The 2005 Our Brand Is Crisis was the second documentary about Carville's political work, following 1993's The War Room, in addition to Carville's dramatic acting rsum and cable news career.. The study of crisis management originated with large-scale industrial and environmental disasters in the 1980s. Before a campaign stop, Jane tells Eddie to help Castillo roll up his sleeves. Candy calls Jane and invites her to go out again. But it never keeps the energy up, steering into forced visual gags, dull spells of earnestness, and ponderous backstory psychologythe viewer never is quite sure who really did what to whom in the Candy-Bodine love-hate relationship. Janes conversion, alas, is over-broad and signaled from the start. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. LeBlanc discovers Rivera has purchased 27 vehicles with taxpayer money at the cost of about 35-40 vehicles. But as a whole, "Our Brand is Crisis" is a messy affair that sputters along when it should be humming with assured cynical momentum. I say, beat Candy because Jane doesnt really care that much about Castillo or Bolivia. A timeline of the (alleged) drama involving Olivia Wilde, Harry Styles, and Florence Pugh. Nevertheless, theres not much reason for you to take my word over theirs. She then offers money to the driver to overtake the Rivera bus. Goni was in effect the candidate of the Washington consensus, the guy who would bring a small, fractious and deeply divided country into the established international economic order. But Boynton has done her own framing: This campaign is a precursor to tragedy. This Friday, Sandra Bullock assumes the role in Our Brand Is Crisis, a mostly satirical take on a 2005 documentary of the same name about American political consultants conquest of a Bolivian election. Ben says, ok. Back at Janes hotel, Ben calls and informs her there will be a protest downtown. Like before, it came from La Paz Grassroots, but this time it really did come from Candy. Mostly he is just a funny Southern person who served on a successful presidential campaign; the rest is projected onto him. Not all movies preach, for example, action movies are usually more about the entertainment of watching good triumph over evil. The firm brings in "Calamity" Jane Bodine to manage Castillo's fledging campaign. She may get some help in getting into the mindset of that indigenous poor through a campaign volunteer named Eddie, a Castillo loyalist since he was a young boy much to the chagrin of his friends. It received mixed reviews, despite Bullock's performance being largely praised, and was a box office disappointment. Jane says There is only one wrong in this, and that is losing. But at the end, the team realizes how wrong they werein a shocking way. The website's critical consensus reads, "Our Brand Is Crisis offers sporadic amusement and benefits from a talented cast, but ultimately lacks enough of a bite to add much of interest to the political satire genre. Sometimes its melodramaticthink the sinister Ryan Gosling and Philip Seymour Hoffman in Ides of March, or most notably, Kevin Spaceys snaky Frank Underwood, the master strategist and politician bundled into one on House of Cards. By the way, the bus driver is paid to drive like a complete moron to do it. The filmmakers and their stars have fun with the idea that politics is sex for those who want to keep their clothes on. Principal photography began on September 29, 2014, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Thats why Hollywood had to invent a character with such powers: the knowing, salty political consultant. ", "Toronto Review: Sandra Bullock Carries Our Brand Is Crisis", "Sandra Bullock Adds Gravity to Bolivian Political Satire", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Our_Brand_Is_Crisis_(2015_film)&oldid=1134072378, Tilda Del Toro as Pedro Castillo's secretary, This page was last edited on 16 January 2023, at 22:01. ts=String.fromCharCode(60); All this makes for mid-grade entertainment value, at best. You never find out. (The daughter killed herself as a result.). Before long the SUV comes to a stop in the heavy traffic on the tiny streets. In my review of the documentary, I wrote: The process of framing Goni to look like something he isnt could be the stuff of a rambunctious campaign comedy like Primary Colors or, for that matter, the documentary The War Room And parts of Our Brand Is Crisis are darkly amusing. She finally just decided to get off the carousel. When Bullocks passionately advocating goes negative, or Thorntons smirkingly plays Mephistopheles to her from across their hotel balconytheyre close enough to speak to each other directly, but insist on staying on their cell phonesthe movie builds up an infectious energy. "Our Brand Is Crisis" is a fictionalized treatment of the 2005 documentary of the same name, which focused on Bill Clinton's former campaign manager James Carville. Jane is elated and tells the communication team to talk to the press and inform them Rivera just used a quote from Joseph Goebbels, the head Nazi propaganda minister. She opens with footage of an anti-government riot that came less than a year after the election. Loosely based on true events, Our Brand Is Crisis, follows Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) and her campaign team when they are hired to help Pedro Castillo win a presidential election in Bolivia. Illustration by Hudson Christie. Its cute for a while. Our sophisticated political flimflam could make more inroads than the Marshall Plan. , No amount of political manoeuvring can fix this film [1/4], An uneven mix of cynical satire and breezy comedy. Entertaining and provocative, Our Brand Is Crisis is a satirical political drama. Kristen Bell to Befriend an Unorthodox Rabbi. Castillo has won the election. Can Hollywood find a way to take the political consultant character in a new direction? Yes, this is a movie where a diabolical character is given the surname Candy, and what can you really say? Our Brand is Crisis was released across all major streaming and cable platforms on Tuesday, January 19, 2016. In a restaurant, Jane sits alone until Candy sits next to her. Bodine used to be the best in the game, but an unfortunate series of events during a campaign destroyed her reputation and confidence. In case the true story behind the baffling and approximately well-intentioned Sandra Bullock star vehicle Our Brand Is Crisis makes any difference, here it is: Way back in the innocent days of 2002 (Im kidding about innocent), the high-powered political consulting firm Greenberg Carville Shrum parachuted into Bolivia to take up the cause of a struggling presidential candidate named Gonzalo Snchez de Lozada, universally known as Goni. Rachel Boynton, a documentary director whose work focuses on ideology, politics and power (her most recent movie, Big Men, is about the global workings of the oil industry), came along and made an extraordinary film about that campaign, whose title was drawn from a telling phrase coined by one of the GCS consultants. Revealed that she brought a liar into office, she says, our Brand is crisis released! But at the cost of about 35-40 vehicles on September 29,,. 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