Rivera is on, holding two babies during a campaign stop, confessing how hes doubly lucky, and promises to run a positive campaign. Written by Peter Straughan, and according to its credits inspired by the 2005 documentary film of the same name, Our Brand is Crisis uneasily mixes the star vehicle with the screwball-political-comedy/satire with the (half-heartedly, in the end) impassioned call to social consciousness arms. Vanessa Bryant Settles Helicopter-Crash Photo Lawsuit for $28.85 Million. Throughout almost all of the film, Jane and her team use dirty manipulation to campaign for Castillo. David Gordon Greens uneven Wag the Dog-style satirical political romp takes both its title and theme from Rachel Boyntons 2005 documentary about the role played by the gun-for-hire American consultants in the 2002 Bolivian elections. As one of his first actions, he invites the IMF into Bolivia, thereby breaking his promise. (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. Jane gets blasted, leaks misinformation, vandalizes Candys room, and sabotages his candidates rallies the way he sabotaged her candidates. She gives him a bottle of Paul Newman Steak Sauce. There are too many balls in the air, too many uncontrollable outside factors, for any singular figure to get all of this under control, be 10 steps ahead of the curve, and successfully and confidently blaze a trail from pre-candidacy to election to dignified leadership. Lets Do the Thing: How Online Were You in February 2023? But it seems as though screenwriter Peter Straughan and director David Gordon Green realized near the end that theyd written a feature-length film celebrating consultants ability to install a lying, oligarchic, IMF-beholden stooge to a South American presidency, and decided they ought to wrap things up more palatably. Nell explains that Castillos opponent, Rivera, has hired her old arch nemesis, Pat Candy (played by Billy Bob Thornton). Jane says its just a carousel and she was going around and around. Jane invites them out to dinner with the campaign team. Bodines character loosely channels celebrity political consultant James Carville, one of the Americans who worked on the 2002 Bolivian campaign and a consistent fascination of Hollywood. From there, Jane uses every trick at her disposal to try and beat Candy. "- Castillo: This llama will lead us toward prosperity. 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. As it happens and Im sure all this is coincidental Bolivia contains immense natural gas reserves, the second-largest in South America after Venezuela, whose national resources had been rendered largely off limits to outside investors by the rise of socialist president Hugo Chvez. Maybe, kinda. What the hell was James Carville and Stan Greenbergs consulting firm with its close ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party leadership class doing in one of South Americas smallest and poorest nations? Bush strategist Lee Atwater, who by his own reported deathbed admission was an unholy monster, and to this day keeps afloat the brand of George W. Bush strategist Karl Rove. Another graphic shows the race at 22% for Castillo and 26% for Rivera with 16 days to go. There is only one wrong thing to do, she says: Losing. Um, yes. Our Brand Is Crisis (2015) Rated R for language including some sexual references. Meanwhile, Thornton employs his well-honed smiling/sneering shtick to nicely nasty effect. One woman says he has a weird smile. Their main tactic is to emphasize the many problems of the economy and present . 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. Thankfully, were usually too wrapped up in Bullocks great performance to mind the films cognitive dissonance. Our Brand Is Crisis Review: Champions of Cynicism | TIFF 2015. if (window.self != window.top) {nf=''} else {nf='NF/'}; Sometimes its both, as in Kathy Bates sharp-tongued, soft-hearted adviser in Primary Colors. Los Angeles County said all litigation over the crash has now been resolved. She quotes, It may be alright to have a power that is based on guns. Senator Pedro Castillo, President of Bolivia 15 years ago, is once again running for the country's top job. We know this stuff happens, but its still clarifying to see the curtains pulled back. Since Im reviewing this film for its DVD release, Ive already taken into consideration the opinions of other reviewers. ***END SPOILER***. Realizing that her candidate, Senator Castillo (Joaquim de Almeida) cant win by being likable, they decide to use fear as their issue, sell that Bolivia is a nation in crisis, and hes the only many that can save it. [19] Additional filming occurred in Puerto Rico and Bolivia. PLEASE share your observations and insights to be posted here. From that day on, she says, our brand is crisis.. The protagonist, Jane Bodine a.k.a. Calamity Jane Bodine (Bullock) was a vaunted political strategist, but the emotional toll of the campaigns coupled with substance abuse problems forced her into early retirement where she may not be happy, but shes grateful that shes calm. The deception disgusts her. Does he drink too much? Have they learned nothing? She tells Castillo and the campaign that this is no longer an election, it is a crisis. 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. 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. Outside, a large groan is heard. Bullocks Jane Bodine offers nothing new. In its best moments, Our Brand Is Crisis is reminiscent of Wag the Dog; it knows how fucked politics is and acts accordingly. Candy reveals it was him (via a friend of a friend) who anonymously suggested to the Castillo campaign to hire Jane. Later at her hotel room, she is still nauseous from the elevation. She introduces LeBlanc (Zoe Kazan), a young investigator who is hired to dig up dirt on Rivera. All of them, except Bodine, have already taken jobs as political consultants in other countries. Facing a general strike and a series of confrontations between soldiers and protesters that left at least 67 civilians dead, Goni imposed martial law in October 2003, and the U.S. State Department issued a statement offering its full support. 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. Castillo's American consultants, knowing that they need ideas outside the box, recruit "retired" political strategist "Calamity" Jane Bodine, who has lived somewhat off the grid and has not worked on a political campaign in six years. Jane next starts a rumor that Rivera is a Nazi, based on no real facts, but a fuzzy picture showing him with Nazi propaganda. She describes the Daisy advertisement, which ran exactly once, that turned the election for Lyndon Johnson over Barry Goldwater. Thats why Hollywood had to invent a character with such powers: the knowing, salty political consultant. She tells Nell she needs to pull some string with her contacts at the Bolivian State Department, in order to take votes from Castillo, and give them to Volasco (another candidate). 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. Our Brand is Crisis may be director David Gordon Green's most sterile picture yet, but it's redeemed somewhat by Sandra Bullock's lead performance, as well as a talented ensemble cast . A knock on the door reveals Eddie, saddened and angry, who tells her about the IMF plan. Goni fled the country five days later, and now lives in exile in the U.S., which has refused to extradite him to Bolivia to face trial for extrajudicial killings and other crimes against humanity. [29], "Box-Office Preview: Halloween Forecast Bleak for 'Our Brand Is Crisis', "Sandra Bullock's 'Our Brand Is Crisis,' Robert Redford's 'Truth' to Premiere at Toronto", "Sandra Bullock and David Gordon Green Team on 'Our Brand is Crisis', "Scoot McNairy Joins Sandra Bullock in 'Our Brand is Crisis', "Billy Bob Thornton in Talks to Join Sandra Bullock in 'Our Brand Is Crisis', "Anthony Mackie Joins Sandra Bullock in 'Our Brand is Crisis', "Joaquim de Almeida, Zoe Kazan Join Sandra Bullock in 'Our Brand Is Crisis', "Participant Boards David Gordon Green's 'Our Brand Is Crisis', "The real story of "Our Brand Is Crisis" is how we screwed up Bolivia: Behind the bland Sandra Bullock movie lies another strange-but-true tale of botched American meddling", "Sandra Bullock in Talks to Star in George Clooney-Produced 'Our Brand Is Crisis', "George Clooney's 'Our Brand Is Crisis' sets Metairie casting call", "Louisiana Film TV Production Jobs Hotline September 23, 2014", "Political drama starring A-listers films in Norco", "Reynaldo Pacheco Is The Beating Heart In 'Our Brand Is Crisis', "Sandra Bullock's 'Crisis' Gets Awards Season Release Date", "Our Brand Is Crisis (2015) - Box Office Mojo", "Bradley Cooper, 'The Martian' To Scare Away Sandra Bullock & 'Scouts' At Halloween B.O. There are very occasional crude sexual references. Jane says the llama cant stand the commercial so badly, he killed himself. The political comedy Our Brand Is Crisis stars Sandra Bullock as an American campaign strategist hired to work for a Bolivian presidential candidate. We root for Jane to win and feel guilty for caring more about the game than the country. Well, this is the rambunctious comedy version of Our Brand Is Crisis, framed by director David Gordon Green and the British writer Peter Straughan not with a dead boy but the personal odyssey of a fictional character. The go-to source for comic book and superhero movie fans. This is the meaning of the title. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Although Castillos populist opponent doesnt seem to have much integrity (the character does in the documentary), we still know that Castillo has less, that hes a dreadful man. The way Jane and her team approaches politics makes them good at their job, but it also makes them cynical people, and the movie rarely questions their behavior until the very end when it does so in the most heavy-handed manner possible. At another commercial set inside a warehouse, several llamas are there, and Castillo is set to compare the future of Bolivia with llamas, who work hard. The cinematic trope has retroactively kept a light on devilish George H.W. There are dozens of pottery jars and bowls covering the walls. You want to know how the Janes of the world happen. The real meat of the comedy, and drama, comes in the ingenious dirty tricks that Candy and Bodine play on each other, which could kick off a primer on the political practice recently known as rat-f**king (although that phrase is never uttered in the film). We just want to dive into a pool without having to hold onto our bottoms. OUR BRAND IS CRISIS NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jason The film starts with Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) being interviewed. Nevertheless, his brothers are much more skeptical about Castillo. Comedy-Drama. She then offers money to the driver to overtake the Rivera bus. Mimicking the behavior in the actresss previous film, Minions, Jane is shown mooning a bus. Later, two senior advisors argue the crisis brand may have worked with the current crowd, but it wont with the working class. As one of his first moves as president, Morales unilaterally reversed the terms of Bolivias natural gas contracts with foreign corporations: Instead of the investors getting 82 percent of the profits and the Bolivian state getting 18 percent, it was suddenly the other way around. Jane is a broken prizefighter who has been called into the ring for one last round. 1h 47m. In case the true story behind the baffling and approximately well-intentioned Sandra Bullock star vehicle Our Brand Is Crisis makes any difference, here it is: Way back in the innocent days of 2002 (Im kidding about innocent), the high-powered political consulting firm Greenberg Carville Shrum parachuted into Bolivia to take up the cause of a struggling presidential candidate named Gonzalo Snchez de Lozada, universally known as Goni. Rachel Boynton, a documentary director whose work focuses on ideology, politics and power (her most recent movie, Big Men, is about the global workings of the oil industry), came along and made an extraordinary film about that campaign, whose title was drawn from a telling phrase coined by one of the GCS consultants. The film gives a fictionalized account of the involvement of American political campaign strategists Greenberg Carville Shrum (GCS) in the 2002 Bolivian presidential election. The study of crisis management originated with large-scale industrial and environmental disasters in the 1980s. She just needs to hear him deny it. Our Brand is Crisis was released across all major streaming and cable platforms on Tuesday, January 19, 2016. Around the edges of this story about Bullocks character, an especially ruthless consultant known as Calamity Jane, there are a few intriguing hints of other stories about the international financial system, the power of fear in politics and the American understanding of what democracy means when applied to other people in other countries. Eduardo, a young volunteer of the Castillo campaign, is deeply impressed by this show of commitment. She may get some help in getting into the mindset of that indigenous poor through a campaign volunteer named Eddie, a Castillo loyalist since he was a young boy much to the chagrin of his friends. Filmcast "Our Brand is Crisis" November 6, 2015 Laura Seaman Features , Filmcast , Movies [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Join Laura Seaman as she reviews " Our Brand is Crisis " and previews " Spectre " and " The Peanuts Movie " on this week's episode of Filmcast. Heres my idea for a Hollywood ending: People are inspired to seek out Boyntons great documentary, which throws a spotlight on one of Americas least-known but most consequential exports. But Boynton has done her own framing: This campaign is a precursor to tragedy. However, Castillo refuses to give permission for the team to do so. George Clooney and Grant Heslov produced. [13] Peter Straughan was set to write the script, with Clooney attached as a potential director and star for the film, about the 2002 Bolivian presidential election's campaign by James Carville's Washington, D.C.-based political consulting firm Greenberg Carville Shrum,[14][15] which was hired by candidate Gonzalo Snchez de Lozada. 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