Comedy-Drama. She pulls from her bag the pottery bowl that Ben was admiring in the first scene, and hands it to him before climbing out of the car. We get on Janes adrenaline kick when she wins, but the movie rarely questions the deeper ramifications of her actions. Bodine and her crew join Candy on the way to the airport. He calls the police and Jane is seen slapping an officer. Did Cirie go too far by bringing family matters into the game? The opposition's top political consultant is her nemesis, fellow American Pat Candy. In Bolivia, the situation is tense: Bodine learns that the indigenous people, who are a majority in the country but lack any real political power, are protesting for constitutional reform to get proper representation. She opens with footage of an anti-government riot that came less than a year after the election. She reveals she has had mental issues before and suffered from depression. On a table she finds a Rivera doll. It is only the knowing, salty political consultant who can bridge the gap between political reality and tidy fictional narrative. While Castillo is meeting with the press, Jane meets Eduardo. The filmmakers and their stars have fun with the idea that politics is sex for those who want to keep their clothes on. "Our Brand is Crisis" was one of these pleasant surprises. But if you can be wary of those things, I do recommend this film. Ben (Anthony Mackie) and Nell (Ann Down) are driving in the snowy mountains (between the mountains, as Jane later corrects them) discussing their plan to sway Jane to work for the campaign of Pedro Castillo, a Senator in Bolivia who is running for President. Our Brand Is Crisis is a sharp political comedy ostensibly based on Bolivia's 2002 presidential election. She describes the Daisy advertisement, which ran exactly once, that turned the election for Lyndon Johnson over Barry Goldwater. Let me know how that goes. Jane then joins the mass of people who are walking toward the city. It is only after Bodine arranges for the distribution of a flyer accusing Castillo of a long-ago affair (and blaming it on the opposition) does she finally get him to agree to smear his opponents. But as a whole, "Our Brand is Crisis" is a messy affair that sputters along when it should be humming with assured cynical momentum. Jane yells out the window to Candy that Rivera has dropped 6 points. On a campaign bus heading toward a remote Bolivia location on a small dirt road, they discover Riveras bus is directly ahead of them. But theres no real fun in determining the extent to which this movie is some sort of a clef expos. Policy doesnt even enter into the conversation; its more about scoring points by making your opponent look like a Nazi sympathizer simply by virtue of a doctored photograph. Castillo wins the vote by a small margin. Both Bullock and Thornton portray Carvillesque characters (and the bald Thornton looks the part). Comedy Drama A battle-hardened American political consultant is sent to help re-elect a controversial president in Bolivia, where she must compete with a long-term rival working for another candidate. It is considered to be the most important process in public relations." Digital rental or purchase allows you to instantly stream and download to watch anywhere and anytime on your favorite devices. Eduardo, a young volunteer of the Castillo campaign, is deeply impressed by this show of commitment. Our Brand is Crisis hits a lot of clunky notes and the end is unforgivably cornball, but its still one of the liveliest political black comedies Ive seen in a while. And yet in David Gordon Greens tale of political fixers, Our Brand Is Crisis, he wants to find hope. The image of that boy haunts Our Brand Is Crisis, so that the U.S. strategists who do a bang-up job of getting the wrong man elected to the wrong place at the wrong time look like agents of catastrophe.. As a result of this, Castillo agrees to start running a negative campaign. But the fact that it wants to also squeeze in a redemptive tale. In 2002, Bolivian politician Pedro Castillo hires an American political consulting firm (based on James Carville's Greenberg Carville Shrum firm) to help him win the 2002 Bolivian presidential election. The poor reviews of Our Brand is Crisis are puzzling, since its one of the few non-documentary films to show successfully a) what rip-roaring fun politics can be when its only about marketing and b) what terrible things can happen when its only about marketing. Our Brand Is Crisis is a 2015 American comedy-drama film directed by David Gordon Green and written by Peter Straughan, based on the 2005 documentary film of the same name by Rachel Boynton. It also sets up a Hollywood ending that all but wrecks the movie. A montage shows the crisis message is working and support for Castillo is growing. I get it -- Green and Straughan and Participant were trying to make a Sandra Bullock movie that Warner Bros. can put onto thousands of theater screens. Castillo promises the people that will happen if hes elected. Nevertheless, his brothers are much more skeptical about Castillo. Who paid for it? Loosely based on the 2005 documentary of the same name, Our Brand is Crisis offers a fictionalized take on the 2002 Bolivian Presidential election with a cast that includes Academy Award. But every once in a while, you come across a movie that seems to be driving an evil message all the way through, and then suddenly the ending takes a moral turn and shows that the protagonists were wrong. , No amount of political manoeuvring can fix this film [1/4], An uneven mix of cynical satire and breezy comedy. [2/4], Barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, would be perfect humanist, socialist, anti-capitalist propaganda except its a bit disjointed Abhorrent at least 61 obscenities rear female nudity when woman on bus moons other bus, crass, grimy and not sure of its own message burdens itself with foul language and sexual allusions, spoiling some pretty great performances from Sandra Bullock and Billy Bob Thornton. Jane has accepted the offer and their plane lands in La Paz, Bolivia, which has an elevation of nearly 12,000 feet above sea level. Joaquim de Almeida - Castillo. The deeply disappointed Eduardo visits Bodine in her hotel; Bodine replies that she is not responsible for Castillo's actions. The insistent, intrusive music score by David Wingo doesnt help matters, and neither do the too-many subsequent montages, all of which are of the always mistaken We Need A Montage variety. Hollywood loves it some Ragin Cajun, because hes the closest real-life approximation to the magical political consultant of its dreams. Carvilles troops were dispatched to La Paz in 02 to consolidate the great victory of liberalism and democracy as they and their sponsors and benefactors understand those things and to resist the rising tide of Latin American leftism represented in Bolivia by the indigenous political leader Evo Morales, Gonis leading opponent. Their main tactic is to emphasize the many problems of the economy and present . Theres no redemption to be found with the people who are ruining liveswho have no belief in politicians or voters; people who have basically given up on humanity and play with public policy like a kid with a loaded gun. So those questions remain in the dim and dusty background, behind the quasi-hilarious dirty tricks, the long nights of booze, the almost-condescending interactions with indigenous Bolivians and the rivalrous relationship tinged with both tragedy and Eros between Jane and Thorntons Mephistophelean (and distinctly Carville-like) Pat Candy. Once a political idealist, she increasingly was a strategist for hire outwardly not caring about the actual politics of her boss. [16], On August 21, 2014, Bullock's casting was confirmed, playing a retired political consultant called 'Calamity' Jane Bodine, and David Gordon Green was set to direct the film. And Im not talking about content issues, like language or nudity, Im talking about the message the movie preaches at the audience. Jane says its just a carousel and she was going around and around. She can quote appropriate nuggets of wisdom from Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" and from the world's leaders and thinkers. In 2002, Bolivian politician Pedro Gallo hires American James Carville's political consulting firm, Greenberg Carville Shrum, to help him win the 2002 Bolivian presidential election. So they cop out, closing on an unlikely, feel-good character turn for Bodine. He does exactly that, to Janes delight, when explaining hes not close to his son, but he wishes he was, with tears in his eyes. Copyright 2023 Salon.com, LLC. Sandra Bullock and Billy Bob Thornton go head to head as strategists in a patchy satire about the 2002 Bolivian elections. The 2005 Our Brand Is Crisis was the second documentary about Carville's political work, following 1993's The War Room, in addition to Carville's dramatic acting rsum and cable news career.. They plead with him that any negotiations with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) be preceded by a referendum so the people can decide. An young actress expresses concern with her part in the ad, which requires her to be caught by Castillo. Candy goes on to tell Jane, If you fight with monsters too long, you become a monster. Jane later says that shell kill herself if she loses to Candy again (though this appears to be hyperbole) She has lost every election against him. The film was screened in the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. So I knew that, in this case, I would just have to find out for myself. His name is too long with her so she just calls him Eddie. But it never keeps the energy up, steering into forced visual gags, dull spells of earnestness, and ponderous backstory psychologythe viewer never is quite sure who really did what to whom in the Candy-Bodine love-hate relationship. Bodine had fled the consulting scene for years after an eruption of conscience that pushed her to mental breakdown, sobriety, and pottery. Its very obvious when shes going to do it, so it would be easy for viewers to close their eyes until all the yelling and laughter dies down. What sealed the deal was that she will be coming up against her long-time arch-nemesis, Pat Candy. Loosely based on true events, Our Brand Is Crisis, follows Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) and her campaign team when they are hired to help Pedro Castillo win a presidential election in Bolivia. Castillo has won the election. Castillo had been coached by Jane that if he senses any emotion or tears, to look directly into the camera. 2023 Vox Media, LLC. This satire, directed by David Gordon Green from a screenplay by Peter Straughan, suffers from deficits of wit, wisdom, focus, filmmaking expertise and appropriate tone. When Bodine realizes that she brought a liar into office, she has the car stopped and leaves to join Eduardo. It is revealed that she retired after violating election laws. All this makes for mid-grade entertainment value, at best. [3] The film opened on October 30, 2015, alongside Burnt and Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. A graphic shows with 24 days left until the election, Castillo has 19% and Rivera has 30%. After he does this, Castillo gives Eddie his cufflinks to hold, and it is clear Eddie idolizes him. Jane tells him this is the way of politics, and its not her job to solve problems after the election. A one-stop-shop for all things video games. The campaign believes Castillo should apologize as soon as possible but Jane disagrees. David Gordon Green keeps the perspectives shifting, getting lots of good angles on this three-ring circus. In its opening weekend, it was projected to make $57 million from 2,202 theaters,[23] however only ended up grossing $3.2 million, finishing eighth at the box office. Jane says it will be an honor. It casts a skeptical eye at the gospel of globalization thats preached by Janes team, but its outrage is more directed at cynicism than at any specific system. They even resort to publishing photos of their enemy with Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie in the background, so that he has to deny being a Nazi. Jane gets a call from Pat who tells her to turn on the TV. Mimicking the behavior in the actresss previous film, Minions, Jane is shown mooning a bus. Have they learned nothing? Our Brand is Crisis was released across all major streaming and cable platforms on Tuesday, January 19, 2016. Back on the bus, Castillo explain to Eddie that an effective leader is a father to the people, and that sometimes a father must be strict. One of the llamas is hit by a truck. She is then seen in the middle of the protest, and sees Eddie. Send your questions or comments about this or any other spoiler to: THEMOVIESPOILER.com. While it would have been nice if the supporting characters were just as well developed (Candys entire purpose seems to be to enter a scene, taunt Jane, and then leave), Jane is a compelling figure, and its unfortunate that the film doesnt match her complexity. Answer, Should Christians seek political power or should we only focus on evangelism? Read full review SEE ALL 35 REVIEWS User Score Write a Review 6.4 Positive: 23 Although the movie has flashes where everything comes together and we can revel in dark victories, more often than not, star Sandra Bullock is left to carry the crushing emotional and thematic weight of a confused picture that acknowledges that politics is a cheap joke, and then expects us all to laugh. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive email correspondence from us. They make big promises that mean jack shit. Getting hurt is unavoidable, she tells him. And sometimesin fact, I daresay oftenyou know about a half hour into a film that youre going to have to censure it. A knock on the door reveals Eddie, saddened and angry, who tells her about the IMF plan. Since The War Room, the omnipotent, omniscient celebrity political consultant has been portrayed again and again. During the final debate, Bodine cites a quote in a conversation with Candy (knowing that he'll give it to rival candidate Rivera for his speech) saying that "a great man" said it. Then Jane figures out a hook: To make Castillo more attractive than the frontrunner (a young, engaged populist who represents hope and change), she has to sell the idea that the country doesnt need someone, well, likable. (Vice) President Selina Meyers (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) has a stable of advisers including Dan Egan (Reid Scott) and Jonah Ryan (Timothy Simons) who have internalized and aspire to the Carville cult; its just that reality interrupts to remind them that things dont work like that. All of them, except Bodine, have already taken jobs as political consultants in other countries. "Crisis management is the process by which an organization deals with a disruptive and unexpected event that threatens to harm the organization or its stakeholders. A senior advisor expresses dismay that she has been hired but all shes doing is sunning herself. Mostly he is just a funny Southern person who served on a successful presidential campaign; the rest is projected onto him. The problem is that they do such a good job selling this Jane that they do exactly what theyre supposed to do: They make you curious about her. The disillusioned Eduardo joins his brothers at a demonstration of people demanding change. She tells Castillo and the campaign that this is no longer an election, it is a crisis. Our Brand is Crisis was one of these pleasant surprises. The police arrive and the demonstration quickly turns into a riot. January 14, 2016. 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