DIRECTOR: David
Gordon LEAD CAST: Sandra Bullock, Billy Bob Thornton,
Anthony Mackie, Joaquim de Almeida SCREENWRITER: Peter
Straughan PRODUCERS: George Cloony & Grant Heslov
EDITOR: Collin
Paton MUSICAL
DIRECTOR: David Wingo GENRE: Satirical comedy, Drama CINEMATOGRAPHER: Timm Orr DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros. Pictures LOCATION: United
States (also filmed in Bolivia) RUNNING TIME: 107
minutes
Technical assessment: 3
Into self-imposed
retirement, high-powered political spin-doctor Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) is
recruited to boost the campaign of a Bolivian presidential candidate, Senator
Castillo (Joaquim de Almedia) who’s struggling in the election polls. In Bolivia, Bodine crosses paths with
another American political strategist and archrival Pat Candy (Billy Bob
Thornton), who’s working for Castillo’s rival candidate. The two American image-makers stop at
nothing in the Dirty Tricks Department to make their respective employers win
the election.
When a movie stars big names like Sandra Bullock or Joaquim de
Almeida, expectations run high: there must be integrity in the plot, topnotch
acting, engaging dialogue, crisp editing, and over-all technical excellence
that matches the brilliance of the stars. But while nothing seems terribly
askew in Our brand is crisis,
nothing is that breathtakingly flawless either. It’s the genre at fault: the movie apparently suffers from
an identity crisis. As a satire it
lacks bite, as a comedy the fun is forced, as a drama it doesn’t quite involve
the viewer. Given the weight of
the subject matter—manipulation of public opinion at all cost—and considering
that it was co-produced by George Clooney—it could have packed more punch to
become an unforgettable movie.
Instead it bowed halfway in an effort to increase its box office appeal.
Saving
the movie is its delicate, timely and timeless theme—earning a living out of
marketing lies, deceiving people to win them over to your side, resorting to
character assassination to disable the opposition. Our brand is crisis
takes the political neophyte into a world where nothing can be called “pure”
except the avarice that informs every action of an individual. There’s a young person in the story
that the Filipino youth can resonate with—he is full of hope and trust in an
older person he deems virtuous until something happens. The complete turnaround of one bothered
character in the end is another saving grace. Sure Our brand is
crisis uncovers the ruthlessness of money and power worshippers, but it
also makes an unequivocal statement for the triumph of conscience.
