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. It received mixed reviews, despite Bullock's performance being largely praised, and was a box office disappointment. In Bolivia, altitude sickness (at 12 thousand feet, La Paz is the worlds highest capital) and sickness with the candidate nearly drive her away. When Bodine realizes that she brought a liar into office, she has the car stopped and leaves to join Eduardo. Election day. Jane is a broken prizefighter who has been called into the ring for one last round. The filmmakers and their stars have fun with the idea that politics is sex for those who want to keep their clothes on. Oct. 29, 2015. For those who want more detail, I have written a paragraph below containing spoilers. But at the end, their methods are exposed to the viewers as evil. Its nun versus AI in Damon Lindelofs new series. When Jane realizes how much she hurt the country, shes so upset that she actually quits her business and joins the protesters. Illustration by Hudson Christie. Rivera is on, holding two babies during a campaign stop, confessing how hes doubly lucky, and promises to run a positive campaign. Jane gets a call from Pat who tells her to turn on the TV. Shes convinced to step up when she discovers the front-runner has hired consultant Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton), her arch-nemesis. [11] More casting was also announced, which included Reynaldo Pacheco, Dominic Flores, Louis Arcella, and Octavio Gmez. Thats not just naive to the point of idiocy. Others discuss plans but Jane is silent. Toronto Film Review: 'Our Brand Is Crisis' Sandra Bullock plays a ruthless political stategist in a role inspired by Rachel Boynton's docu and intended for producer George Clooney to play. Candy is outside the hotel in his chauffeur-driven SUV and offers Jane, Ben, and Nell a ride to the airport. All of them, except Bodine, have already taken jobs as political consultants in other countries. I can barely imagine the humiliation! Carvilles troops were dispatched to La Paz in 02 to consolidate the great victory of liberalism and democracy as they and their sponsors and benefactors understand those things and to resist the rising tide of Latin American leftism represented in Bolivia by the indigenous political leader Evo Morales, Gonis leading opponent. The deception disgusts her. [10] On October 13, 2014, Participant Media announced that they would co-finance the film with Warner, while Jeffrey Skoll and Jonathan King would executive produce, along with Bullock and Stuart M. Written by Peter Straughan, and according to its credits inspired by the 2005 documentary film of the same name, Our Brand is Crisis uneasily mixes the star vehicle with the screwball-political-comedy/satire with the (half-heartedly, in the end) impassioned call to social consciousness arms. Ben admires a shiny dark bowl but Nell takes it from him. Heres my idea for a Hollywood ending: People are inspired to seek out Boyntons great documentary, which throws a spotlight on one of Americas least-known but most consequential exports. But it never keeps the energy up, steering into forced visual gags, dull spells of earnestness, and ponderous backstory psychologythe viewer never is quite sure who really did what to whom in the Candy-Bodine love-hate relationship. When she starts giving it back to himpsyching him outthe movie gets really good. [13] On December 11, 2013, Sandra Bullock was in early talks to star in the film, while Clooney chose not to direct, and his starring in the film was also unconfirmed at that time. She then offers money to the driver to overtake the Rivera bus. ", "Toronto Review: Sandra Bullock Carries Our Brand Is Crisis", "Sandra Bullock Adds Gravity to Bolivian Political Satire", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Our_Brand_Is_Crisis_(2015_film)&oldid=1134072378, Tilda Del Toro as Pedro Castillo's secretary, This page was last edited on 16 January 2023, at 22:01. LeBlanc finds even more dirt on Rivera, but Jane tells her to focus everything on finding dirt on Castillo. Played for laughs? He tells a story about a campaign run by Adlai Stevenson in which Stevenson is told everything thinking person would vote for him, to which Stevenson replies that is not enough. The 2005 Our Brand Is Crisis was the second documentary about Carvilles political work, following 1993s The War Room, in addition to Carvilles dramatic acting rsumand cable news career. They just decided to be ingratiating and sentimental. At another commercial set inside a warehouse, several llamas are there, and Castillo is set to compare the future of Bolivia with llamas, who work hard. Castillo had been coached by Jane that if he senses any emotion or tears, to look directly into the camera. This Friday, Sandra Bullock assumes the role in Our Brand Is Crisis, a mostly satirical take on a 2005 documentary of the same name about American political consultants conquest of a Bolivian election. Later shell claim he got the room intentionally to get under her skin. We just want to dive into a pool without having to hold onto our bottoms. What makes the campaign more personal for her is that Pat Candy is working for Rivera--their professional and personal history goes all the way back to her first-ever political campaign. This is the meaning of the title. 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? Jane next starts a rumor that Rivera is a Nazi, based on no real facts, but a fuzzy picture showing him with Nazi propaganda. [2/4], Barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, would be perfect humanist, socialist, anti-capitalist propaganda except its a bit disjointed Abhorrent at least 61 obscenities rear female nudity when woman on bus moons other bus, crass, grimy and not sure of its own message burdens itself with foul language and sexual allusions, spoiling some pretty great performances from Sandra Bullock and Billy Bob Thornton. Were not supposed to earnestly admire any of these people, but we are supposed to guiltily admire their unfailing ability to guide impossible undertakings, such as the practice of politics, to victory through whatever means. [23], Eric Kohn from Indiewire wrote that the movie is all about Bullock's performance, saying "she imbues her part with a ferocious energy that constantly elevates the straightforward material". Director David Gordon Green Writers Rachel Boynton (suggested by the documentary) Peter Straughan (screenplay) Stars Sandra Bullock The way Jane and her team approaches politics makes them good at their job, but it also makes them cynical people, and the movie rarely questions their behavior until the very end when it does so in the most heavy-handed manner possible. To handle this scandal, Castillo is interviewed on TV and explains it was a visit to his son, who IS a member of the cult, and he had to wear the robe. The rest of the movie is her telling the story of what happened after her resignation. Bodine had fled the consulting scene for years after an eruption of conscience that pushed her to mental breakdown, sobriety, and pottery. Candy goes on to tell Jane, If you fight with monsters too long, you become a monster. Jane later says that shell kill herself if she loses to Candy again (though this appears to be hyperbole) She has lost every election against him. It is only the knowing, salty political consultant who can bridge the gap between political reality and tidy fictional narrative. As one of his first actions, he invites the IMF into Bolivia, thereby breaking his promise. 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? The real meat of the comedy, and drama, comes in the ingenious dirty tricks that Candy and Bodine play on each other, which could kick off a primer on the political practice recently known as rat-f**king (although that phrase is never uttered in the film). Power? [11], Principal photography on the film began on September 29, 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana, using 35mm film. She will work on the campaign of anybody, provided the money is right. Yes, this is a movie where a diabolical character is given the surname Candy, and what can you really say? This was the lowest wide release opening of Bullock's career, beating 1996's Two If by Sea ($4.7 million). Bullock plays Calamity Jane Bodine, a legendary practitioner of the dark political arts who comes out of semi-retirement to navigate the hapless ex-president back to the top job. Directed by David Gordon Green. . They plan to frighten the people, with the aim of persuading them to vote for the unsympathetic but known Castillo rather than the younger opposition candidates. SALON is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark of Salon.com, LLC. Terms of Service apply. In case the true story behind the baffling and approximately well-intentioned Sandra Bullock star vehicle Our Brand Is Crisis makes any difference, here it is: Way back in the innocent days of 2002 (Im kidding about innocent), the high-powered political consulting firm Greenberg Carville Shrum parachuted into Bolivia to take up the cause of a struggling presidential candidate named Gonzalo Snchez de Lozada, universally known as Goni. Rachel Boynton, a documentary director whose work focuses on ideology, politics and power (her most recent movie, Big Men, is about the global workings of the oil industry), came along and made an extraordinary film about that campaign, whose title was drawn from a telling phrase coined by one of the GCS consultants. What are you going to do? and then leaves. Click here for all of our TIFF 2015 coverage thus far or peruse links to our reviews below: Matt Goldberg has been an editor with Collider since 2007. The train begins to leave and Candy is furious. 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. 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. He overhears him making plans to visit the IMF in New York, and is crestfallen. Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. A one-stop-shop for all things video games. Candy tells her he knows it was Jane who planted the fliers of Castillos infidelity in order to force Castillo to run a negative campaign. She describes the Daisy advertisement, which ran exactly once, that turned the election for Lyndon Johnson over Barry Goldwater. On a bus trip to a mountainous countryside, protesters start throwing rocks at the bus. She cares about winning, and the movie reinforces the narrative that politics is just a game. Glenn Kenny was the chief film critic of Premiere magazine for almost half of its existence. Answer, Does HIGH MORAL CHARACTER matter in political leaders? We get on Janes adrenaline kick when she wins, but the movie rarely questions the deeper ramifications of her actions. All rights reserved. He calls the police and Jane is seen slapping an officer. 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. However it is better and more gratifying to win the heart of a nation and keep it. Candy gives her a condescending compliment and tells her he plans to pleasure himself thinking about her when he returns home. From there, Jane uses every trick at her disposal to try and beat Candy. Facing a general strike and a series of confrontations between soldiers and protesters that left at least 67 civilians dead, Goni imposed martial law in October 2003, and the U.S. State Department issued a statement offering its full support. ------------------------------------------. A man in a mask jumps the barrier and smashes an egg on Castillos forehead. Right before the debate with the 3 leading candidates, Jane is sitting alone in the lecture hall, reading Faust by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, and is soon joined by Candy. Goni fled the country five days later, and now lives in exile in the U.S., which has refused to extradite him to Bolivia to face trial for extrajudicial killings and other crimes against humanity. [24], On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 35% based on 147 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10. "Crisis management is the process by which an organization deals with a disruptive and unexpected event that threatens to harm the organization or its stakeholders. Yet you really have to read between the lines and dig into the subtext of Straughans screenplay to perceive the issues that drove Boyntons film. On a campaign bus heading toward a remote Bolivia location on a small dirt road, they discover Riveras bus is directly ahead of them. Jane is goaded by patronizing men into proving herself in ways shes not proud of. Underneath it all plays Ten Years Afters Id Love To Change The World, the absolute nadir of Woodstock-era protest rock; the movies sound editor deserves some kind of award for smoothly deleting the songs opening volley against dykes and fairies.. A battle-hardened American political consultant is sent to help re-elect a controversial president in Bolivia, where she must compete with a long-term rival working for another candidate. We know this stuff happens, but its still clarifying to see the curtains pulled back. Rivera then repeats the quote Jane told Candy. GCS brings in Jane Bodine to manage the campaign in Bolivia--battling her arch-nemesis, the opposition's political consultant Pat Candy. It is revealed that she retired after violating election laws. This is a competent film that shows how foxy political campaigns can be. On a table she finds a Rivera doll. She opens with footage of an anti-government riot that came less than a year after the election. Its yoked to an impoverished Bolivian teenager who believesdespite the angry effusions of his brother and friends in their hillside slumthat Castillo is sincere in trying to bring about economic equality. That kind of consumer response is pretty remarkable, and it also says something about each brand's crisis management strategies. Not all movies preach, for example, action movies are usually more about the entertainment of watching good triumph over evil. I think you pull it, Joshua Jackson says to Lizzy Caplan sensually. The interviewer says she's been known by many names, most notably "Calamity Jane". Jane also has to get Castillo to be totally transparent to her to uncover those skeletons that she might need to deal with, being transparent which he may not be willing to be, not realizing that her own skeletons might pop out to play. Its very obvious when shes going to do it, so it would be easy for viewers to close their eyes until all the yelling and laughter dies down. 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. Carville and Greenberg won that election for Goni, after shifting the entire theme of his campaign to the crisis mantra, but maybe they should have vetted their candidate a little better. But when youre reviewing a political drama, you have to be careful to pay close attention. His slickness fits the milieu. Ben says, ok. Afterwards, Jane sends 3 Bolivian singers to show up at Candys door. In the mix is a fine supporting cast including a sensational Thornton . Although I hasten to add that even by the standards of Bullocks implacable, steel-jawed underacting this is a dull performance. Los Angeles County said all litigation over the crash has now been resolved. She introduces LeBlanc (Zoe Kazan), a young investigator who is hired to dig up dirt on Rivera. The boys (all adult age) are living alone because their parents have both died. 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. 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