"The Big Short" director Adam Mackay turned his satire from Wall Street to the White House, and these two are probably the easiest places in the world to find video footage.
Adam Mckay's usual cross-cutting still plays an important role in this film. The combination of the decadent youth who was initially addicted to alcohol and the vice president who eventually held supreme power made people realize that "acquiring power" is probably a gift to some extent. At the end of the funeral, the middle-aged Cheney warned his father-in-law, who was suspected of killing his wife, to stay away from his wife and children from now on; he was connected to Cheney, who was eating toast while calmly arriving on the arrest list - there is no right or wrong in politics, Life and death, that is something that a man, a husband and a father will only consider. Cheney, who has become vice president, stands in front of the office door, staring at everything in the house with the lights off, while the camera cuts to Cheney, who loves his wife and daughters in his life, teaching his wife how to make creamy spaghetti on the phone . Politicians have always been contradictory and complex, and Cheney shows this most vividly. On the one hand, they are very human, they know how to love their family, and they know how to enjoy life; on the other hand, in their world, there is no right and wrong, black and white, good and evil, everything is impossible in chaos. distinguish. Beginning at 1 hour and 32 minutes, the multiple crossover clips of Cheney's decision to attack Iraq are brilliant: focus groups address the fear of Iraqi armed forces, politicians who support Cheney's position (such as Mike Pence and Hillary Clinton) ) to express their approval, the media's public opinion orientation to the public... Interspersed with meaningless funny videos, and finally ended up in the line of a reality show "The Chief Speaks". The eve of what should have been the most intense and serious war is combined with absurd humor that is out of place—serious events often result from less serious decisions.
The film is more than happy with all kinds of sarcasm, and it fully shows that politics and child's play sometimes seem like a mother's compatriot. In the first hour and 30 minutes of the film, the waiter read a series of dishes for Cheney and others: enemy combatants, extraordinary extradition, war powers bill, unified administrative theory... Then Cheney said: "we' ll have them all". Power, more power, the power to challenge the bottom line of the constitution, this is the spiritual food for a politician to survive; then the camera cuts to Cheney and Rumsfeld who made the decision to attack Iraq while talking and laughing, satirizing politics The "frivolous" means more obvious. And the movie is cast at 48 minutes, and the story "ends" in the warm atmosphere of the family's happiness - although a similar technique has been used at the end of "The Big Short", it is still ironic enough that no politician would Claiming that they don't love their family, but power and desire are the things that keep them alive like water and air. For another example, borrowing a monologue from Shakespeare’s play, Cheney and his wife communicated with each other on the eve of their decision to become vice president. , how can people speculate on the complex and unfathomable inner monologue of a sinister and cunning politician?
In movies, Cheney often appears in the back and blurred in the crowd. Attending various important meetings and public occasions, the camera often sweeps through the crowd before focusing on Cheney; Meaningful discussions and tit-for-tat, hardly arguing with people - he will jump to conclusions and give orders. As Gore rescinded his declaration of defeat, Cheney silently painted among politicians clamoring for anger and dissatisfaction; then, the Supreme Court ruled against Florida's recount. "Beware of the quiet man, because he is watching when others are talking, he is planning when others are acting, and he is attacking when others are resting." This sentence is undoubtedly the most appropriate to describe Cheney.
But the film still has many flaws. A biographical film, since it has to pave the way, since it has to be meticulous, Dick Cheney was caught drinking and driving during college, was fired from Yale, worked as an electrician in the power company - it fits perfectly with the first paragraph of Wikipedia - so that the parents of mother-in-law and mother do not hesitate to spend. space, and he only mentioned one sentence when he was Secretary of Defense when Bush was elected president-not to mention that this old man played a lot in the Gulf War. Compared with the indescribable irony formed by the collapse of the US financial empire at the end of "The Big Short" and the correspondence with several "outsiders" who had insight into the facts in advance, the latter part of "Vice President" begins with the end of the main war in Iraq, and the plot is more dramatic. Like a running account, it is mechanically flattened according to the timeline, and the ironic style does not run through. In fact, there is no need to stuff so much content. After all, this is not a Dick Cheney documentary, and satire is the main purpose of this film. However, Cheney's TV video at the end of the movie is quite interesting. He did not forget to satirize the voters: "You chose me, and I just did what you wanted me to do." This kind of thing can only be surging under the dark tide, and it is impossible for the people living in the sun to understand it.
This biographical satire seems more inclined to satire Cheney alone. But we all know that a politician can't do a disgraceful thing, and one person can't step on the muddy water of politics. It's a bit too cute to just put the Iraq War shit on one head. Colin Powell, Paul Wolfowitz, Susan Rice, Hillary, the Obama administration... The whitewashing is so clean and neat, Bush Jr. has also contributed to the expansion of the president's power, and in the movie he has completely become a Fools and puppets at the mercy of Cheney. Don't be afraid to say it a little bit more extreme, since the first bomb fell on Iraqi soil, no one who sits in the White House wants to run. I think I should not be the only one who remembers how the then Secretary of State Colin Powell held a bag of "washing powder" in the United Nations Security Council in 2003 and announced to the world that the United States had found evidence of Iraq's large-scale use of chemical weapons; The Obama administration, with the venomous snake of ISIS, is even more to blame for terrorism... The practice of trying to force the distinction between "good and bad" and "good and evil" among politicians-whether for the needs of film and television adaptation- - are quite stupid and childish. I don't mean all politicians, I mean politics itself is bullshit. Are politicians "good people"? They can do all the dirty things; are they "bad guys"? When have you seen them do "bad things". This standard applies to any politician, not just Cheney.
The only thing I feel bad for is Bell. He barely wore any shoes in "The Big Short". He calculated the mortgage violation rate while listening to heavy metal. He lived like a lunatic and stuttered every day. The two Bells, who went bald later, really wouldn't have recognized them at first sight if they hadn't looked at the cast - so when will Mackay let the Bells go? In terms of self-destructing image, Bell can be regarded as equal to Xiao Li. Before getting the little golden man, most of them will be happy to toss their body.
Political satire does not seem to be very pleasing to Oscar. Perhaps the satire does not seem as simple and crude as a direct attack. In other words, the attack is not so strong, and it seems a little guilty. But in fact, irony is sometimes more striking and devastating than direct criticism, but Adam Mckay's skills have not yet been cultivated to this level.
We love political movies because we know we can't play them well, but through movies, we can at least briefly enjoy them.
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