Review of Vice (2018) by Jamie N — 30 Dec 2018

Adam McKay's new film is specifically made to fuel the current political wildfire. At its climax, it attempts to slip one by the average audience member, albeit less tactfully, by flashing us with images of migrant children at our nations border and the California wildfires peppered between dramatic bombings of Iraq. Only one of those is related in any direct way to former Vice President Dick Cheney, the protagonist/antagonist of the film. This was the most outrageous moment of the film, aside from McKay momentarily assaulting us with blurry close-up shots of people's eyes, which can be attributed to his flashy style. Aside from those complaints, I quite liked the film.

McKay makes me laugh, and somehow manages to make me think more deeply about ruthless pragmatism at the same time. He also makes me think about how the most seemingly inconsequential and uninteresting bureaucracies can destroy lives; how government tyranny can permeate under our noses; how executive authority has changed over the recent decades; and how a monumental tragedy can create an existential crisis that changes the way millions of people think about the world. The most poignant of moments was in the finale, when President Bush, portrayed by Sam Rockwell, shakes his leg in anxiety as he announces our invasion of Iraq to the nation. The film then cuts to someone shaking their leg in fear with their family as the bombs begin to fall.

The acting is incredible, and Christian Bale looks uncannily similar to Dick Cheney, as he masterfully captures the mannerisms of an almost ghostly figure to people younger than 25 years old. I would wager that 95% of people my age do not even know who Dick Cheney is. They should see this movie, and I am confident they will at least be entertained, and maybe they will look up more information on who this man is. Hopefully, they will reach the same conclusions as I did; that Dick Cheney set in motion a horrific response to a horrific act. At the end of the movie, Cheney breaks the fourth wall and tells the audience his justification, without apology, for his actions. There are certainly monsters in this world, and they should be dealt with. However, there are many signs that point to Cheney being one of them.

This brings me to the central question the film poses, and this may have been unintentional, but nonetheless, it was apparent to me. At what point is pragmatism immoral, and will the inevitable progression of governmental power in the name of pragmatism eventually lead to tyranny? This film says it already has, and makes the claim it will become worse. I think both sides of our current political bareknuckle fight can agree that the endless expansion of executive authority has already damaged our reputation as a country, has caused death and destruction, and will lead to more tragedy. Even though Dick Cheney probably does care about his family more than his political dynasty and George W. Bush is certainly more than just a bumbling idiot, I think Vice poses important questions that we should all strive to answer.