Vice (Review)
Vice Offers a Warm Reminds the Trump Wasn’t the First Monster in Office.
Vice manages the impossible by doing justice to one of the most manipulative and despicable political figures in modern history, Dick Chaney. The film is filled with brilliant performances from the likes of Christian Bale, Steve Carrell, and Amy Adams, who manage to create entertaining caricatures of the historical figures they’re portraying. However, while I definitely agree with director/writer Adam McKay when it comes to his views of vice-president Cheney, he tries a little too hard at times with the narrative and Vice comes dangerously close to seeming like a parody of a Michael Moore documentary a little too often.
Let me start by addressing the rumors regarding Christian Bale’s performance as Dick Cheney in Vice. I don’t know who decided to cast him, but they deserve a medal. Bale is well known for undergoing drastic physical changes for roles, but nothing compares to his look in the film. He puts on more than a few fans and definitely sheds his dashing good looks to play the quiet, monotone man who held the world in his hand. His performance is perfectly summed up by a quote at the beginning of the film that reads:
“Beware the quiet man. For while others speak, he watched. And while others act, he plans. And when they finally rest… he strikes.”
Indeed, Cheney is a ruthless man that refuses to let anything stand in his way as he works his way from college drop out to the most powerful man on the planet. It would almost be inspiring if it wasn’t so terrifying, and Bale proves to be perfect to bring this monster to the silver screen.
I suppose that McKay was much too busy with Vice to bother with Homes & Watson (which he co-produced with his production company) and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. However, it becomes very clear early on in Vice that he put his heart and soul into this film, and for the first half or so it pays off tremendously. In fact, the exact moment where Vice starts to lose its steam is right as Cheney actually becomes vice-president. Everything before that point offers incredible insight into a reclusive man that seemingly came out of nowhere. Everything after that though only served as a painful reminder of what most of us already knew all too well about the bastard. McKay tries just a bit too hard to make the movie he so desperately wants to when he doesn’t need to. The script, acting, and directing is all on point. It’s the editing and flourishes that causes the film to suffer.
The performances are the cornerstone of Vice. While I’ve already spoken about how insane Christian Bale is in the film, he finds himself on equal ground with his costars. Amy Adams is reprehensible as the power-hungry Lynne Cheney, the only woman on the planet who could possibly find a match in Dick. Even Steve Carrell turns in one of his best performances of the year, which is surprising considering the roles he’s given in Beautiful Boy and Welcome to Marwen. His take on Rumsfield though feels like a combination of Michael Scott and Brick Tamland with just a dash of frat boy tossed in. Then there’s Sam Rockwell who plays a small part as George W. Bush, but proves he’s gotten pretty good at playing idiots on the big screen. All in all, Vice might not be as insightful as one might hope, but it boasts a stellar cast at the top of their game.
McKay adapts a quirky narrative for Vice thanks to Jesse Plemons (who you might remember from Game Night). He describes everything that’s happening to the viewer and takes the time to explain all the laws and policies that Cheney manipulates throughout the film. However, McKay goes further than this and adds a number of visuals educational elements which detract more than aid the overall story. It’s a stylistic choice that causes Vice to suffer in the long run, especially since Plemons does such a great job as the narrator and his true role in Cheney’s story is one that you’ll never see coming.
Vice is actually a pretty damn good movie and features some of the best performances of the year. Of course, I’m of the same mindset as McKay when it comes to Cheney and Bush, so I’m more inclined to truly enjoy all the well deserved pokes and prods that they deserve. I hope to see at least a few nominations for the actors from this film, especially Bale since they are quite simply some of the best of the year. It’s far from a perfect movie though, as it suffers from narrative issues and comes across as a little too desperate to be insightful. I applaud McKay for wanting to shed light on one of the biggest villains in modern history, but that’s like trying to convince us that Hitler was a bad guy. We all know he was a monster, we want to know why and how, and McKay does a damn good job of answering those questions.
