Review of Lions for Lambs (2007) by Iain S — 12 Jun 2009

Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep and Robert Redford headline this intelligent three-hander about the cause and effect of their characters' actions when two US soldiers are injured behind enemy lines in Afghanistan.

Cruise is electrifying as the slick congressman whose political ambition and manipulation of the press and military leads to tragedy. If ever there was a part that he was born to play, then this is it. Trading on his familiar wide-grinning charm, he subtly hints at the political manouvering beneath his character's outwardly reasonable facade, but never overplays his hand and delivers what may be his best performance to date. One day Tom Cruise will win the Oscar he deserves! Streep is the journalist assigned to interview him who gradually realises that she is being used as a pawn in a bigger political game. As ever, she is totally convincing in the role even though much of her performance requires her only to react to Cruise's tour de force. In the third strand of the story, Redford plays a college professor whose inadvertent actions originally lead the injured soldiers to join the draft, and who seeks redemption by trying to persuade another of his gifted students from wasting his life.

The tight structure of the film and the wordy script bring to mind a stage play, and one could see the film being adapted well for the theatre. The scenes of war are perfunctory at best and suggest that much of the film's budget was spent on Cruise, Streep and Redford's salaries instead. The complex subject matter of the film perhaps also warrants a slightly longer running time, however the film never feels too short and the lengthy dialogues that make up much of the film's substance are always superbly written and expertly delivered. I really didn't expect to enjoy this film as much as I did.