Review of In the Loop (2009) by Nesbitt10 — 30 Jan 2013

The pace is fast and the approach is uncensored. "In the Loop" conveys a sense of instability and speed. The dialogue comes in cascades of exuberant comic language. Characters indulge in frantic and absurd monologues. The language is brilliant, and the laugh lines come so quickly that your going to have to watch the movie twice to start to pick them up. Although concealed beneath the splendor of comedy is a vision of self-serving people, who are self-absorbed and unable to see past their own interests.

The United States and Britain are rushing to war, in this pointed British satire, and everyone in government, on both sides of the Atlantic, is scrambling for position. Quietly underlying these amusing interactions and laughs is the implication that the Americans are wealthy and entitled, and that the Brit's are merely junior partners.

The movie follows a litany of characters but mainly centers around Simon (Tom Hollander) as he struggles to maintain his balance. Simon unintentionally refers to war with the Middle East as "unforeseeable", then tries to correct what he has been told is a terrible gaffe. His attempt to smooth things over only makes things worse, when he proclaims that Britain "must be ready to climb the mountain of conflict." Because he is against the war, he comes into contact with American undersecretary (Mimi Kennedy), and a pacifist American general, played by James Gandollfini. At the same time, Simon has to appease his own government's apoplectic communications director Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi), whose performance is priceless-boarding on legendary.

"In the Loop" is uncompromising in its speed and audacity. Even among the moderate characters, there seems to be hardly any awareness of the true cost of war, loss of life, and what this all entails. These functionaries are lost in the fog of government, incapable of seeing past their petty grievances and career concerns. What a terrifying thought that this is possibly closer to reality than we care to think of it. The film is adapted from the critically acclaimed BBC series "The Thick of It.