2015’s “Our Brand is Crisis”, directed by David Gordon Green.
Starring Sandra Bullock, Billy Bob Thornton, Anthony Mackie,
Ann Dowd, Scott McNairy, and Zoe Kazan.
What is it about?
“Crisis” is somewhat based on a 2002 presidential election
in Bolivia. With the team’s candidate (Joaquim de Almeida) lagging in the
polls, the political team (Anthony Mackie, Ann Dowd, and Scott McNairy), the
team throws a hail mary to recruit renowned political campaign manager,
Calamity Jane (Sandra Bullock). Bullock was retired from the morally
compromised life, but relishes the opportunity to joust with the competing
campaign manager (Billy Bob Thornton). Will the team be able to come from
behind to win the election?
Why is it worth seeing?
There is a lot of Oscar power in this production, both in
front of and behind the camera. So imagine the disappointment from this tepid
and dumbed down result, which takes some very liberal interpretations from the
2005 “Our Brand is Crisis” documentary. Bullock’s character gets air lifted from
America and dropped in the middle of a TV episode where it explains to us how
cynical politics are, and how organic advocacy on the ground is for naïve
idiots.
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Always talking down to the audience, Director David Gordon
Green struggles to inject realism into the back room conversations that
dominate “Crisis”. With Bullock existing in a campaign room full of yes men who
are blown away by her flippant “calamity” and college freshman 101 philosophical
quotes, it’s very difficult to relate to as both a character arc and doctrine
on politics. The invisible hand is a little too visible.
At it’s best, “Crisis” at times resembles 1998’s “Primary Colors”, but with it’s lack of focus and nuance, those moments are few and far between. While Sandra’s Bullock’s ass
double has been doing well for themselves, the wind chimes that play in the
score indicate what we already know- that this is a film out of place and in need of a recount.
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