In The Loop - Armando Iannucci

Unrelentingly cynical and sharp as a razor blade, Armando Iannucci’s In The Loop comes at audiences with the intensity of a blow to the face. At this point in the decade, when just about every critical thing that can be said about the inner workings of governments – particularly governments preparing to enter into a war – has been said, this film should be at least somewhat redundant. However, with its particularly nasty and straight forward approach it manages to make the topic seem fresh and interesting.

In The Loop opens with a crisis which will only escalate, never abate, as it moves from London to Washington and plays a decisive role in determining the global political climate. The catalyst for this crisis is an interview of Simon Foster (Tom Hollander), the British Secretary of State for International Development, who has stated that in his opinion war in the Middle East is “unforeseeable.” This answer makes his boss, Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) apoplectic, as a definitive statement either way about a still theoretical conflict is a political face plant and puts the British government in a delicate position. Karen Clark (Mimi Kennedy), a visiting American Assistant Secretary for Diplomacy who wants to keep the US out of the Middle East, tries to use Simon’s comment to support her position but his subsequent attempts to tow the line and remain vague on the subject simply muddies the waters even further, angering people on both sides of the debate.

Simon is dispatched to Washington in an attempt to clean up the mess and brings along his aide, Toby (Chris Addison), who has a relationship of sorts with Karen’s aide Liza (Anna Chlumsky). Both Toby and Liza have way more power than they should and, in fact, it’s Liza’s paper that Karen is relying on to push her agenda. Much of the plot concerns a secret U.S. war committee which Karen is able to sneak her way on to and which everyone, including the visiting Brits, want to be a part of as it will determine whether or not there is sufficient cause for the nations to go to war. Liza’s paper also plays a significant role as it is manipulated by both sides and used both to justify and argue against going to war.

The most striking thing about In The Loop is its lightning pace, which perfectly captures and lampoons the frantic mood of international discourse in the run-up to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The prevailing desire amongst the majority of people in power is to go to war, regardless of how they have to manipulate, suppress and outright lie about the intelligence they’re relying on – it’s all about winning this particular battle of wills, not about whether it’s right to go to war or even if there is enough manpower and resources to sustain a war. As characterized by the film, the players in this game are little better than high schoolers, forming cliques and ruling through rumour and gossip. The really frightening thing is that this probably isn’t too far removed from the reality of the war on terror’s origins.

As foulmouthed, short-fused Malcolm, Capaldi is the film’s standout, casually tossing off lines like, “fuckity bye” and steamrolling over the other characters. Simon tends to be the focus of Malcolm’s ire but handles it affably enough, letting the insults roll of his back with a quip and then turning it around on his colleague Judy (Gina McKee), who quickly becomes the British team’s scapegoat and endures much verbal abuse at Malcolm’s hands. The only person able to really effectively stand up to Malcolm and take him down a few pegs is U.S. Lieutenant General George Miller (James Gandolfini), Karen’s only real ally and the only person who actually seems to be thinking about the soldiers who might be sent to war. Overall the cast is incredibly strong, handling the sometimes dense and difficult dialogue with aplomb and providing the film with a lot of snap. None of the characters in the film are particularly likeable – they generally display all the worst stereotypes about politicians – but watching these actors as they work is a total joy.

By this stage in the decade making a film about political deception and warmongering is like shooting fish in a barrel: so easy, it’s not worth it. What sets In The Loop apart is its unremitting hardness and complete refusal to hold any illusions about the political process. Unfettered by sentimentality and uninterested in preaching, the film simply focuses its energy on entertaining and it succeeds in spades.