By Manohla Dargis. The women of, Sam Levinson and the Weeknd Allegedly Turned, Theres No Red Button You Can Push to Stop. 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. But the fact that it wants to also squeeze in a redemptive tale is completely at odds with the work the protagonist is doing. 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). Its only when the camera is on top of him that we see the pool of blood. 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. While Castillo is meeting with the press, Jane meets Eduardo. His name is too long with her so she just calls him Eddie. A bus race ensues around dangerous bends and cliffs. One woman says he has a weird smile. 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 senior advisor expresses dismay that she has been hired but all shes doing is sunning herself. A llama is shown getting hit by a car. The film starts with Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) being interviewed. 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. 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. She doesnt think the man should change to fit the narrative but instead the narrative should change to fit the man. 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. Eventually Eddie sees her and they make eye contact. Shes convinced to step up when she discovers the front-runner has hired consultant Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton), her arch-nemesis. Illustration by Hudson Christie. He cant reconcile that her success also makes her a bad person. Our Brand Is Crisis also has deeper themes that punctuate the human cost of winning and what it takes to do just that. The film stars Sandra Bullock, Scoot McNairy, Billy Bob Thornton, Anthony Mackie, Ann Dowd and Joaquim de Almeida. Thornton is sleek, clammy, and leering. That kind of consumer response is pretty remarkable, and it also says something about each brand's crisis management strategies. 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. Bodine used to be the best in the game, but an unfortunate series of events during a campaign destroyed her reputation and confidence. Realizing that her candidate, Senator Castillo (Joaquim de Almeida) cant win by being likable, they decide to use fear as their issue, sell that Bolivia is a nation in crisis, and hes the only many that can save it. Rated R He calls the police and Jane is seen slapping an officer. During the debate, Nell observes how charming Rivera is, while the team watches stage left. Before long the SUV comes to a stop in the heavy traffic on the tiny streets. The pacing is lickety-split, the talk is boisterous, and the cast is all aces. Our Brand Is Crisis is being released by Warner Bros., but was largely funded by Participant Media, which produces what it calls socially relevant films and documentaries. In other words, in this case the right-wingers are correct: Liberal Hollywood is in full effect. 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. A screenshot shows Castillo at 8% with Rivera leading with 36%. The interviewer talks about his son. When Jane leaves the meeting with LeBlanc, she instead instructs her to dig up dirt on Castillo, their own candidate. [6] On September 15, Billy Bob Thornton joined the film,[7] and on September 18, Anthony Mackie joined the cast. 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? He has written for a host of other publications and resides in Brooklyn. Still offensive? Before a campaign stop, Jane tells Eddie to help Castillo roll up his sleeves. More fliers are discovered that claim (with pictures) Castillo is a member of a crazy white-robe wearing cult. 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. Like before, it came from La Paz Grassroots, but this time it really did come from Candy. Sometimes its both, as in Kathy Bates sharp-tongued, soft-hearted adviser in Primary Colors. It is considered to be the most important process in public relations." Later Castillo is heard instructing interest rates to be raised to 15%. 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. At another meeting with advisors, its revealed the crisis message is working, but not so well that it will win the election. But as a whole, "Our Brand is Crisis" is a messy affair that sputters along when it should be humming with assured cynical momentum. Eduardo, a young volunteer of the Castillo campaign, is deeply impressed by this show of commitment. 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. Instead, both end up outside of their hotel rooms so they can see each other. In its best moments, Our Brand Is Crisis is reminiscent of Wag the Dog; it knows how fucked politics is and acts accordingly. 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. Inspired by the 2005 documentary of the . It's a game that has a real impact on people's lives, but a game nonetheless. 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.). At least not right away. Directed by David Gordon Green. Jane and her team had no idea he would do that. Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. Bodine and her crew join Candy on the way to the airport. It's a case study, if nothing else, of starting with a dubious idea and making it downright awful. Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) is a brilliant strategist, pulse reader and marketing mind. We just want to dive into a pool without having to hold onto our bottoms. (Vice) President Selina Meyers (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) has a stable of advisers including Dan Egan (Reid Scott) and Jonah Ryan (Timothy Simons) who have internalized and aspire to the Carville cult; its just that reality interrupts to remind them that things dont work like that. Jane says it will be an honor. All this makes for mid-grade entertainment value, at best. She then offers money to the driver to overtake the Rivera bus. A shame, then, that the movie loses its cynical nerve with an utterly phoney finale that ties itself up in conscientious knots. Gonis second term as president barely lasted a year, after his plans to allow an international consortium to build a pipeline and ship Bolivian natural gas to North America at dirt-cheap prices sparked a massive popular uprising. She tells Castillo and the campaign that this is no longer an election, it is a crisis. On a campaign bus heading toward a remote Bolivia location on a small dirt road, they discover Riveras bus is directly ahead of them. And in the real Bolivian election of 02, there was no rivalry between warring American spin doctors working for different candidates, because Goni was the only candidate who got that kind of help, in clear preference to his populist opponents on both the right and left. Whats ultimately most frustrating is the evidence that the makers of this movie were fully capable of creating something as smart and ruthless as its lead character. Since 2006, Bolivia has been governed by Evo Morales, the indigenous leader whose protest movement led to Gonis downfall. In the following months, the team exercises a strategy of "declaring a crisis". Cyril Ramaphosa's ANC Renew22 grouping believes Eastern Cape . Bullocks Jane Bodine offers nothing new. 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. Among the many achievements of HBOs Veep is its discovery of a new, post-Carville political consultant character, one thats just as cuttingly entertaining but truer to reality. During a debate prep session, Castillo and Jane engage in a heated argument in which Jane says they are all just puppets in the political game, and that nobody is in charge. I have to rate it Offensive, due to its foul language, several blasphemies, and Sandra Bullocks bare hiny. Answer. Bodines character loosely channels celebrity political consultant James Carville, one of the Americans who worked on the 2002 Bolivian campaign and a consistent fascination of Hollywood. Jane suggests that Castillo reveal everything that could be used against him, but he refuses. Our Brand Is Crisis grossed $7 million in North America and $1.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $8.6 million, against a budget of $28 million. The villagers are angrily blocking the bus, and Castillo, against the wishes of Jane, gets off to talk with them. She needs a cigarette, so she walks out the door into a large open foyer. Send your questions or comments about this or any other spoiler to: THEMOVIESPOILER.com. 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. The poor reviews of Our Brand is Crisis are puzzling, since its one of the few non-documentary films to show successfully a) what rip-roaring fun politics can be when its only about marketing and b) what terrible things can happen when its only about marketing. Him Eddie Rivera bus utterly phoney finale that ties itself up in conscientious.... And confidence it 's a game nonetheless when Jane leaves the meeting advisors... Mid-Grade entertainment value, at best this makes for mid-grade entertainment value, at best game. Stop, Jane tells Eddie to help Castillo roll up his sleeves with her she... To dig up dirt on Castillo, against the wishes of Jane, gets off to with..., she instead instructs her to dig up dirt on Castillo, their own candidate a game that a! 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