Review of Game Change (2012) by John M — 24 Sep 2012

See it for the performances. Hot of off winning multiple Primetime Emmys, I decided to give this HBO movie a watch, and I am so glad that I did. This focuses on the 2008 Republican presidential campaign, but more specifically, it's an in depth character study of the vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin.

Politics are usually an automatic off button for me; it's never been one of my topics of interest, and it is one of the quickest ways to get me to break away from a conversation. However, this worked for me on a number of different levels, the largest one being how high caliber of acting is.

Woody Harrelson is very strong, and Ed Harris slips into the role just nicely, but it is Julianne Moore who transforms herself and becomes Sarah Palin. It's a wholly engaging arc that she goes through, and you go from liking her, to feeling sorry for her, to just being appalled by her, and that is a very wide spectrum of emotions that can only be pulled off if you have the talent to do so, and Moore does it spectacularly.

One thing that made me do a double take is that this is directed by Jay Roach, who is better known for the Austin Powers series, and this is something I never expected out of him. Even though you already know how this story is going to end, it's still well worth watching because of its insights on who these people really are.