Impressions: In the Loop

Perhaps surprisingly, satire isn't really my genre. Nonetheless, I did enjoy In the Loop, a film take on the British series In the Thick of It, which I still have yet to see and really should.

The film covers the period of the lead-in to the Iraq War and thus unsurprisingly depicts a steady series of failures of politics. There's a fair range of personalities, none of whom cover themselves in glory, but who generally manage to ring true. The film also has an interesting comparative politics angle, as it looks at executive branch politics on the U.S. side while looking at the parliamentary politics angle on the British side.

Perhaps one of the better uses of the film is to better prepare ambitious naïfs to as to what they might be getting into. The title gets to the core challenge: staying in the loop, particularly if your tradecraft needs work, has high costs. The petty compromises the characters fall prey to are far more pervasive than even the commonly-depicted adulterous affairs of candidates, let alone the overly complex conspiracy theories of most political thrillers.

On the downside, the film certainly did not leave my wife feeling favorably inclined to my field of study or industry, but again, it's a film about the lead-up to the Iraq War; we know how that one turns out.

Comments

[Moti]

I did like In the Loop overall, and I did think it was relatively humorous, but overall, I personally think that satire is a form better suited to working in text, rather than as a TV show or a movie. Having more time to think about what's going on and having a contrast in writing style and internal monologue to what's being depicted carries a lot farther. I find most filmed satires fall flat, personally, and I've enjoyed the scripts for theater versions to the performed play. Do you find this to be different for you, as well?

[Greg Sanders]

I think you're probably right. I do also enjoy the Colbert Report, even if I'm not a devoted watcher, but I think that it has a different style than typical film/television. His whole bit with the bullet points brings a fair amount of reading to the visual which may indicate that he agrees with you.

Similarly, I enjoyed "No way to treat a first lady" a while back (thanks for that) but doubt I would have liked it as much in a film.

So, I think my experience aligns with yours.

[Kate]

I think my problem with it was that it felt a bit too on the nose to be effective satire. I find it easy to get cynical about politics, and there were parts of the film that just didn't seem all that far-fetched.

Also, I was fairly sleepy by the end and thus a bit grouchy in that respect.