17-Down, Three Letters: Party for One artist Carly ___ Jepsen. Violence: Moderate / Profanity: Heavy / Sex/Nudity: Moderate to heavys. Shes convinced to step up when she discovers the front-runner has hired consultant Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton), her arch-nemesis. Thats the problem with focusing a story on the diabolical strategist, the one mythical figure in this godforsaken political system whos got it all figured out. Played for laughs? Since Im reviewing this film for its DVD release, Ive already taken into consideration the opinions of other reviewers. They then shoot the head of the Rivera doll Candy had left, and it breaks his window. Jane suggests that Castillo reveal everything that could be used against him, but he refuses. While Castillo is meeting with the press, Jane meets Eduardo. "Our Brand is Crisis" was one of these pleasant surprises. Calamity Jane (Sandra Bullock), has been lured out of retirement by gobs of money and a challenge: Can she convince the Bolivian people to elect as president an unpopular, arrogant, cigar-chomping oligarch named Castillo (Joaquim de Almeida)who was already president once and bungled the job? They reluctantly agree, but the city is in gridlock due to the protests, which are on the verge of becoming riots. [4] It was theatrically released by Warner Bros. on October 30, 2015. It's a case study, if nothing else, of starting with a dubious idea and making it downright awful. [3], The film opened on October 30, 2015, alongside Burnt and Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. The emotional investment Green wants to make in Jane feels misplaced, especially since he also wants to celebrate moments when she behaves abhorrently. 1h 47m. Jane says the llama cant stand the commercial so badly, he killed himself. It is revealed that she retired after violating election laws. Illustration by Hudson Christie. Candy says he will be going to overseas for a British campaign. Its only when the camera is on top of him that we see the pool of blood. LeBlanc finds even more dirt on Rivera, but Jane tells her to focus everything on finding dirt on Castillo. By Manohla Dargis. When she starts giving it back to himpsyching him outthe movie gets really good. A senior advisor expresses dismay that she has been hired but all shes doing is sunning herself. Candy can be seen watching the action in the background. His name is too long with her so she just calls him Eddie. She cares about winning, and the movie reinforces the narrative that politics is just a game. Our Brand Is Crisis review - dirty political dealings in South America. This password will be used to sign into all, Okay, TikTok, You Can Calm Down About Aubrey Plaza at the SAG Awards Now, All 165 Pink Floyd Songs Ranked, From Worst to Best. They plead with him that any negotiations with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) be preceded by a referendum so the people can decide. The interviewer talks about his son. The front-runner, Victor Rivera, is a populist who is appealing to the basest emotions of that poor electorate. George Clooney and Grant Heslov produced. As the site's Chief Film Critic, he has authored hundreds of reviews and covered major film festivals including the Toronto International Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival. Exactly who decided that a widely disliked candidate in such a small country merited such attention, alongside such star GCS clients as Tony Blair, the Israeli Labor Party and the Canadian Liberal Party? Answer, spin doctors / truth and lies in political campaigns, how marketing strategies are use to manipulate the opinions of voters, evaluate the claim that theres only one wrong in political campaigns and thats losing, evaluate the comment, if you fight monsters too long, you become one, VOTINGDo Christians have an obligation to vote? During a focus group for the ad in which he catches and holds up several people, its clear the ad does not resonate with anybody. [11], Principal photography on the film began on September 29, 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana, using 35mm film. There are also two middle finger displays. His loyalty comes mostly from the fact that Castillo, who was president at the time, took a young Eduardo on his arm during a rally in his town. Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. Washed-up political strategist Jane Bodine is hired by a political consultancy to help their client, Senator Castillo, win the Bolivian general election. At a Rivera campaign stop, Jane is seen talking to Candy. The opposition's top political consultant is her nemesis, fellow American Pat Candy. But when youre reviewing a political drama, you have to be careful to pay close attention. In Bolivia, the situation is tense: Bodine learns that the indigenous people, who are a majority in the country but lack any real political power, are protesting for constitutional reform to get proper representation. In my review of the documentary, I wrote: The process of framing Goni to look like something he isnt could be the stuff of a rambunctious campaign comedy like Primary Colors or, for that matter, the documentary The War Room And parts of Our Brand Is Crisis are darkly amusing. Somebody on the Castillo bus says Jane has a great ass! (And she does. But the filmmakers invent an antagonist of near-mythic stature to make her lust for a win: Billy Bob Thorntons Pat Candy, who works for the leading candidate. 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. A bus race ensues around dangerous bends and cliffs. Later Castillo is heard instructing interest rates to be raised to 15%. His slickness fits the milieu. The protest is growing in the city. . Castillo has won the election. Their main tactic is to emphasize the many problems of the economy and present . Greens last three picturesPrince Avalanche, Joe, and Manglehornfelt like personal indie films, and Our Brand Is Crisis seems like an attempt to reach back into the mainstream with a mix of comedy and pathos, and yet it also comes off like a journeyman feature. Um, yes. Bullocks Jane Bodine offers nothing new. She is approached by Candy, who tells her hes surprised shes working on an unwinnable campaign. Hollywood loves it some Ragin Cajun, because hes the closest real-life approximation to the magical political consultant of its dreams. Director David Gordon Green Writers Rachel Boynton (suggested by the documentary) Peter Straughan (screenplay) Stars Sandra Bullock The campaign believes Castillo should apologize as soon as possible but Jane disagrees. The villagers are angrily blocking the bus, and Castillo, against the wishes of Jane, gets off to talk with them. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. I think you pull it, Joshua Jackson says to Lizzy Caplan sensually. But every once in a while, you come across a movie that seems to be driving an evil message all the way through, and then suddenly the ending takes a moral turn and shows that the protagonists were wrong. Jane is a broken prizefighter who has been called into the ring for one last round. Then Jane figures out a hook: To make Castillo more attractive than the frontrunner (a young, engaged populist who represents hope and change), she has to sell the idea that the country doesnt need someone, well, likable. But as a whole, "Our Brand is Crisis" is a messy affair that sputters along when it should be humming with assured cynical momentum. The rest of the movie is her telling the story of what happened after her resignation. ------------------------------------------. She describes the Daisy advertisement, which ran exactly once, that turned the election for Lyndon Johnson over Barry Goldwater. Its also revealed that Candy is the one who ran over the llama during the commercial shoot. Election day. Loosely based on true events, Our Brand Is Crisis, follows Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) and her campaign team when they are hired to help Pedro Castillo win a presidential election in Bolivia. 2023's Most Anticipated Sequels, Prequels, and Spin-offs. Directed by David Gordon Green. So they cop out, closing on an unlikely, feel-good character turn for Bodine. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Politics is a dirty business, but Our Brand Is Crisis doesn't stick its hands into the muck sufficiently to be as entertaining or stinging as it could be. 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. Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) is a brilliant strategist, pulse reader and marketing mind. By what name was Our Brand Is Crisis (2015) officially released in India in English? Now, the film is so heavily fictionalized that it's much more an emotive or thematic . Janes conversion, alas, is over-broad and signaled from the start. She tells Castillo and the campaign that this is no longer an election, it is a crisis. At first Jane is defensive, claiming that she was just doing her job, but soon her heart is softened as she realizes the mess she helped to make. Castillo promises them that he will not invite the IMF without a public referendum. Its nun versus AI in Damon Lindelofs new series. It needs a strongman who can handle a crisis. She pulls from her bag the pottery bowl that Ben was admiring in the first scene, and hands it to him before climbing out of the car. Castillo tells her she needs professional help for wanting to do anything to win. She showed how American marketing techniques never before used in that region steered a desperate country towards a rich, arrogant former president Gonzalo Snchez de Lozada (Goni), who proved catastrophically out of touch. What makes this fictionalized Our Brand Is Crisis worth noticing to the extent it is, which isnt much is that the filmmakers probably believe they are delivering roughly the same message as Boyntons documentary did, but in fact the most important aspects of this striking story has been scrubbed away or laundered into Hollywood-style pseudo-psychological neutrality. Bodine and her crew join Candy on the way to the airport. January 14, 2016. Does he drink too much? Our Brand Is Crisis. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here. There is something deeply disturbing about American political strategists helping an unpopular politician return back to presidency in a country as different as Bolivia. The film, directed by David Gordon Green and based on the 2005 documentary of the same name, follows Bullock's character Jane Bodine, a political mastermind brought in to help a Bolivian. As a result of this, Castillo agrees to start running a negative campaign. The filmmakers and their stars have fun with the idea that politics is sex for those who want to keep their clothes on. All contents 2023 The Slate Group LLC. All rights reserved. document.write(ts+'script src="http://www.burstnet.com/cgi-bin/ads/ad12539a.cgi/v=2.3S/sz=728x90A|970x66A/'+rnum+'/'+nf+'RETURN-CODE/JS/">'+ts+'/script>'); You can send in your spoiler to other movies by going here. Cyril Ramaphosa's ANC Renew22 grouping believes Eastern Cape . Politics takes to cynicism like shit to a cesspool. Sandra Bullock (who shares producer credits with, among others, George Clooney and Grant Heslov) is the reclusive political strategist Calamity Jane Bodine, who turned her back on her profession after one dirty trick too many. ts=String.fromCharCode(60); When Bullocks passionately advocating goes negative, or Thorntons smirkingly plays Mephistopheles to her from across their hotel balconytheyre close enough to speak to each other directly, but insist on staying on their cell phonesthe movie builds up an infectious energy. She meets the campaign team but stays in the background at the first meeting, clearly feeling ill. The next scene shows the state department giving an anti-cocaine speech, which will help Volasco. OUR BRAND IS CRISIS NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jason The film starts with Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) being interviewed. Is it money? Their main tactic is to emphasize the many problems of the economy and present Castillo as the solution. It casts a skeptical eye at the gospel of globalization thats preached by Janes team, but its outrage is more directed at cynicism than at any specific system. (The daughter killed herself as a result.). Fliers are discovered, authored by the La Paz Grassroots that say Castillo had a three year affair. SALON is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark of Salon.com, LLC. For people who want the vastly more interesting real history of Americas misbegotten meddling in Bolivia just one chapter, of course, in a much larger global story Boyntons film is out there, and so is what happened later. Jane gets blasted, leaks misinformation, vandalizes Candys room, and sabotages his candidates rallies the way he sabotaged her candidates. This satire, directed by David Gordon Green from a screenplay by Peter Straughan, suffers from deficits of wit, wisdom, focus, filmmaking expertise and appropriate tone. In the city, Eddie is hanging Castillo posters. Although I hasten to add that even by the standards of Bullocks implacable, steel-jawed underacting this is a dull performance. In 2002, Bolivian politician Pedro Gallo hires American James Carville's political consulting firm, Greenberg Carville Shrum, to help him win the 2002 Bolivian presidential election. Answer, Should Christians seek political power or should we only focus on evangelism? A shame, then, that the movie loses its cynical nerve with an utterly phoney finale that ties itself up in conscientious knots. The more you understand politics, the more it obliterates idealism and eventually all you see is a rigged game masquerading as a grand-scale optimism. You never find out. Goni was in effect the candidate of the Washington consensus, the guy who would bring a small, fractious and deeply divided country into the established international economic order. Entertaining and provocative, Our Brand Is Crisis is a satirical political drama. Our Brand is Crisis (2015) (964) 6.1 1 h 47 min 2015 X-Ray R. A Bolivian presidential candidate failing in the polls enlists the firepower of an elite American management team, led by the deeply damaged but still brilliant strategist Jane Bodine. Another graphic shows the race at 22% for Castillo and 26% for Rivera with 16 days to go. She is unable to breath and is using an oxygen mask on the car ride to campaign headquarters. The boys (all adult age) are living alone because their parents have both died. Rated R Back at the hotel room, Jane is with Eddie and his brothers, ordering room service and still drunk. On a bus trip to a mountainous countryside, protesters start throwing rocks at the bus. Our Brand Is Crisis is a 2015 American comedy-drama film directed by David Gordon Green and written by Peter Straughan, based on the 2005 documentary film of the same name by Rachel Boynton. A man in a mask jumps the barrier and smashes an egg on Castillos forehead. Things you buy through our links may earnNew Yorka commission. It begins poorly, with an odd montage intercut to stagey interview footage in which Bullocks character, Calamity Jane Bodine, formulates an apologia for we-dont-quite-know-what. February 27, 2023. 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. A one-stop-shop for all things video games. Some said it was staunchly communist. Verdict. There's only one wrong in this, only one, and that is losing!". She gives him a bottle of Paul Newman Steak Sauce. There just arent enough cigarettes or bottles of Scotch in the world to give any political consultant the power that we, in our fits of frustration, guiltily wish they had. Though not without its entertaining momentsthe cast, led by Sandra Bullock, is energetic, sharp and gets a fair number of juicy bits to rock out with. Despite Sandra Bullocks strong lead performance, David Gordon Greens film cant push a hopeful tone past its depressing reality. They talk about the book and Mephistopheles, with whom Faust makes a wager for his soul. Janes cynicismshe regards herself, the candidate, and everyone else as a pawnis so over-the-top that it threatens to derail Our Brand is Crisis: Who cares about the election if she doesnt? Later at her hotel room, she is still nauseous from the elevation. This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. In addition, there are 20+ f-words, s-words (19), and one each of a**, SOB, p*ssed, p*ssy, b*stard, b***h, tw*t, cr*p, and t*rd. After a traumatizing career as a political campaign consultant, Bodine has retired to the snowy mountains, where she doesnt smoke and makes bowls. [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. 11 ], the film is so heavily fictionalized that it & x27! 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