Vice Review

Think you know Dick? You don’t know Cheney.

The nominees for the Oscars were released this week. I’m going to cover all of them in my final prediction post in a few weeks. The Best Picture award is the biggest accolade in cinema. Out of the 8 nominees I’ve seen all but one. Black Panther was a cultural movement in cinema; elevated by one of Marvels best products to date. BlacKkKlansman is awesome with it’s 70s aura but will leave you with chills. Bohemian Rhapsody is a film which I’ve been fighting with since November so we’re not going to get into it again right now. The Favourite is gloriously odd is the best way imaginable. Green Book is a film which left me conflicted over if I like it or not; I’ll drop the review next week. Roma is a beautiful film which features some of the best direction ever seen on film. A Star is Born is a wonderful film which upon its release I screamed that it should Best Picture. But what about Vice? The final film of the supposed best of 2018? Is it a worthy follow up to director Adam McKay’s The Big Short? Does it belong to be regarded as one of the best of the year? Vice is a film which will divide people down the middle. You will either love it or you will hate it. Thankfully, I am one of the people who loves it.

Vice tells the story of Dick Cheney (Christian Bale). A man who worked himself up the political ladder to become one of the most powerful men in global history. The film takes a close inspection into the man’s political accomplishments and his marriage to Linda Cheney (Amy Adams). The opening text tells the audience that it’s hard to uncover all the details of Cheney’s secretive life. The first laugh of the film comes from the text “We did our f***ing best.”. The Narrative sees the film goes back and forth between Cheney as Vice President following 9/11 and the road, he took to get to such a high rank in the white house. The film flows at a fast pace. Characters come and go quickly which can leave you questioning who’s who at times. There is also an abundance of information thrown at you. Acts and laws that you were never aware of feature throughout. Don’t let this phase your experience with Vice. Instead take it as an opportunity to learn about the bizarre man who most of us know little about. The story of Cheney is one which I was not aware of. I was gripped by the story from start to finish. No matter what stage of the film you’re at. You will be blown away by the man playing Cheney.

It’s no secret that Christian Bale goes the extra mile to become a character. Bale got ripped for The Dark Knight Trilogy. Lost 62 stone to become an insomniac in The Machinist.  Herniated a disc in his weight gain for American Hustle. These are just a few of the times he’s transformed his body. For Vice Bale has gained 44 pounds to play the US politician. The transformation is remarkable. Bale, a 44-year-old Englishman, is playing at times a 72-year-old American without anyone raising an eyebrow. It’s not just physically where his performance shines. Bale carries Vice on his shoulders. His portrayal of Cheney is remarkable. Bale is almost whispering his dialogue to get across how calculated Cheney was. Bales facial expression tells so much of what Cheney is saying without having to speak. The initial stupidity of Cheney in the opening act. Allows Bale to flex his comedic muscles. Bale after all did win a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. I’m still baffled at why they put him forward for this award over dramatic actor. Bale gives a performance which highlights the ruthlessness of politics. Cheney isn’t completely unlikable. He is presented in a way which allows us to understand the decisions that he made without going too preachy. Bale surely is the front runner for this year’s Best Actor Oscar. The rest of the cast match Bale which is a miracle.

The supporting cast of Vice come in and out of the film as they please. The 3 actors being billed as main support are Amy Adams, Steve Carrell and Sam Rockwell. Adams is being touted to finally win her first Oscar. The actress is one of the best of our generation. Never seeming to step a foot wrong. Besides Justice League but I’ll let that one slide. Adams is once again magnificent as Lynne Cheney. I was worried coming into this that Lynne would be a character who would be walked over by the men in the film. Thankfully Lynne is just as ruthless as anyone else in the film. Lynne knows that she needs to fight extra dirty to get to where she wants to be. Adams always elevates any film she’s in. Vice is no different. I didn’t get a chance to review it due to being extremely busy, but I seen Welcome to Marwen a couple of weeks ago. It’s possibly the worst film I’ve seen in a long time. I was worried that I would be turned off Carrell for a long time. However, he’s managed to pull me back with his performance as Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld is an old school politician who describes himself as the bed bugs you can’t get rid of. Carrell is brilliant as the smarmy politician who would not last a day with today's media. Carrell has redeemed himself within 3 weeks with me. Going into the film I was very excited to see Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush. Sadly, he’s not actually in that much of it. Rockwell is amazing as always, but I can’t help but feel disappointed that we didn’t get more of him. That supporting Actor nomination should have gone to Carrell. Here’s hoping to see more of Rockwell in the deleted scenes.

It’s easy to forget that just a few years ago Adam McKay was making comedies. His last film before he entered the world of drama was Anchorman 2. The change of pace in his career is still shocking. McKay had a big task with having to follow up The Big Short. He won an Oscar for best screenplay. Vice is worthy successor to The Big Short. A film which managed to make the housing crisis entertaining. McKay has made it his mission to teach the audience of things which they might not know much about. He does this in a way which is bonkers. Instead of laying out a film which is a glorified documentary. McKay makes a film which uses ludicrous premises to get his point across. Vice has moments where you must question if you’re hallucinating or not. The decisions McKay has made are bold, experimental and will be divisive. Tying Shakespeare into a Dick Cheney film is genius. There are times where the historical accuracy can drag the film down. McKay’s direction and writing are good enough to make up for this. Hank Corwin deserves praise for his work as editor of the film. The editing is what makes many of the scenes click. McKay has done it again. There is no one in Hollywood with the vision that he has. Who knows what he will come up with next? Whatever it is. I’ll be in the cinema watching.

Overall Vice is great. A film which hook you from start to finish. In a way the audience is a character in the film. It’s hard to look away when you’re being called out. Some of the more unique decisions made by McKay will leave many unimpressed. I thought the experimental scenes showed that the director has passion. The cast are all exceptional. Bale gives arguably his best performance to date. This won’t be to everyone’s cup of tea but check it out! If you don’t get anything from it than at least you’ll get the oddest post credits scene, you’ll have ever seen. Vice is a worthy Best Picture Nominee. Time will tell if we are looking at the best film of 2018.

Liam’s summary of Vice.

Best moment: A fake out halfway through the film is glorious.

Worst Moment: The film is maybe 10 or 20 minutes too long.

Best Character: Bale is Dick.

Worst Character: There a one second shot of Trump. Ew.

Watch This if You Liked

The Big Short: McKay’s first step into drama made the stock market cool.

The Fighter: Remind yourself how talented Christian Bale is.

Blazing Saddles: One scene from Vice feels like it’s straight from Blazing Saddles.

Overall Rating: 4/5