Things you buy through our links may earnNew Yorka commission. She is approached by Candy, who tells her hes surprised shes working on an unwinnable campaign. Sandra Bullock and Billy Bob Thornton go head to head as strategists in a patchy satire about the 2002 Bolivian elections. Castillo wins the vote by a small margin. Thanks for reading the spoiler. 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. She then asks who knows English and only a handful of people raise their hands, so LeBlanc must translate. ts=String.fromCharCode(60); All this makes for mid-grade entertainment value, at best. A lethally effective charm delivery system, Sandra Bullock doesn't need to do much to win you over. I think you pull it, Joshua Jackson says to Lizzy Caplan sensually. There are also two middle finger displays. [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. [6] On September 15, Billy Bob Thornton joined the film,[7] and on September 18, Anthony Mackie joined the cast. 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. OUR BRAND IS CRISIS NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jason The film starts with Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) being interviewed. 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. Jane wakes up in her hotel room. All rights reserved. She introduces LeBlanc (Zoe Kazan), a young investigator who is hired to dig up dirt on Rivera. The train begins to leave and Candy is furious. That remains a question shrouded in mystery, but we could probably come up with some decent guesses. But the fact that it wants to also squeeze in a redemptive tale is completely at odds with the work the protagonist is doing. One of the llamas is hit by a truck. The film starts with Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) being interviewed. He says the people in the village dont understand that yet. He resides in Atlanta with his wife and their dog Jack. However, when two strategists for a struggling Bolivian presidential campaign pique her interest, she goes down to the South American country to see if she should get back in the fight. Jane says it will be an honor. Another screenshot shows Castillo has 10% to Riveras 39% with 80 days until election day. Thankfully, were usually too wrapped up in Bullocks great performance to mind the films cognitive dissonance. He cant reconcile that her success also makes her a bad person. Before a campaign stop, Jane tells Eddie to help Castillo roll up his sleeves. Like before, it came from La Paz Grassroots, but this time it really did come from Candy. But when youre reviewing a political drama, you have to be careful to pay close attention. They make big promises that mean jack shit. Getting hurt is unavoidable, she tells him. Bullocks Jane Bodine offers nothing new. Janes voice is heard saying, If you dont like the road youre on, start paving a new one.. Starring Sandra Bullock and Billy Bob Thornton. A timeline of the (alleged) drama involving Olivia Wilde, Harry Styles, and Florence Pugh. That's true even in "Our Brand Is Crisis," a . Unfortunately, the quote is actually from Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler's minister of propaganda. 1h 47m. When people say its a communist movie, I think they are hugely misunderstanding the movies point. Washed-up political strategist Jane Bodine is hired by a political consultancy to help their client, Senator Castillo, win the Bolivian general election. It is revealed that she retired after violating election laws. Does he drink too much? But it seems as though screenwriter Peter Straughan and director David Gordon Green realized near the end that theyd written a feature-length film celebrating consultants ability to install a lying, oligarchic, IMF-beholden stooge to a South American presidency, and decided they ought to wrap things up more palatably. The pacing is. He does exactly that, to Janes delight, when explaining hes not close to his son, but he wishes he was, with tears in his eyes. Morales government has dramatically reduced poverty and inequality, and presided over one of the worlds fastest-growing economies, right through the crash of 2008. Jane insist they go negative in spite of this, but Castillo says no. Boynton traveled to Bolivia to cover the activity of a high-priced U.S. consulting firm, Greenberg Carville, and Shrum, in the 2002 presidential race, and she had amazingfrankly, flabbergastingaccess. Mick LaSalle. It is revealed that she retired after violating election laws. Our Brand is Crisis review: While the film is heart-warmingly centered on Bullock, she is at her best neurotic, desperate, redeemable self. [22], 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. They even resort to publishing photos of their enemy with Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie in the background, so that he has to deny being a Nazi. Jane gets a call from Pat who tells her to turn on the TV. [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. 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? Mick LaSalle is the film critic for the San . ***SPOILER*** Castillo wins the election, and immediately breaks all his promises and turns out to be a tyrant. From that day on, she says, our brand is crisis.. This was the lowest wide release opening of Bullock's career, beating 1996's Two If by Sea ($4.7 million). 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. Some of her pranks, specifically one ploy to feed her candidates unsuspecting competitor a Nazi quotation during the campaigns final debate, are good for a laugh. 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? 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. The big reason it works, though, is that it takes its premise from Rachel Boyntons phenomenal (but little-known) 2005 documentary of the same name. Available from various digital retailers including Amazon Video, iTunes, Google Play, Apple, Vudu and others. We just want to dive into a pool without having to hold onto our bottoms. Later, two senior advisors argue the crisis brand may have worked with the current crowd, but it wont with the working class. But if you can be wary of those things, I do recommend this film. 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 is a record turnout and at days end, the results are: Castillo 23.5%, Rivera 22.8%, Volasco 21.9%. [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". The study of crisis management originated with large-scale industrial and environmental disasters in the 1980s. 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. It is considered to be the most important process in public relations." There is only one wrong thing to do, she says: Losing. Throughout almost all of the film, Jane and her team use dirty manipulation to campaign for Castillo. Glenn Kenny was the chief film critic of Premiere magazine for almost half of its existence. It might be possible to make a good movie out of a cross between Mike Nichols Primary Colors and Costa-Gavras Z, but Our Brand Is Crisis, directed by David Gordon Green in a seeming attempt to do something along those lines, is not that movie. Sometimes the portrayal is satiricalRobert DeNiros spin doctor in Wag the Dog, the assassin-like Dylan McDermott in The Campaign, the sex-addicted Kathryn Hahn in televisions Parks and Recreation. By the way, the bus driver is paid to drive like a complete moron to do it. 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. Our Brand Is Crisis Review: Champions of Cynicism | TIFF 2015. When Jane realizes how much she hurt the country, shes so upset that she actually quits her business and joins the protesters. You\'ll receive the next newsletter in your inbox. She is then seen in the middle of the protest, and sees Eddie. Jane highlights something in the book. Walking into the room with the campaign team, she gives a fiery and inspirational speech about how important it is to go negative, and that anybody with a problem with that will be given a set of balls. When they get home, his brothers ridicule Eddie for bringing Yankees and trusting them, and for that matter, trusting Castillo. The interviewer says shes been known by many names, most notably Calamity Jane. You want to know how the Janes of the world happen. 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. 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. Loosely based on the 2005 documentary of the same name, Our Brand is Crisis offers a fictionalized take on the 2002 Bolivian Presidential election with a cast that includes Academy Award. A shame, then, that the movie loses its cynical nerve with an utterly phoney finale that ties itself up in conscientious knots. *Sorry, there was a problem signing you up. Who paid for it? Our Brand is Crisis was one of these pleasant surprises. 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. 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. 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. 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. They plead with him that any negotiations with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) be preceded by a referendum so the people can decide. Our sophisticated political flimflam could make more inroads than the Marshall Plan. Jane meets with Castillo who says shes a liability. If youve been following the drama in the House, the inability of most every Republican presidential candidate to lift off, or really any news from American politics over the last 10 or 239 years, you might have noticed that politics is difficult. 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.. Jane yells out the window to Candy that Rivera has dropped 6 points. Not seeing what she highlighted, Candy asks about it. More fliers are discovered that claim (with pictures) Castillo is a member of a crazy white-robe wearing cult. The pottery business is explained forthwith, lest were worried about some Ghost influence. Wide release opening of Bullock 's career, beating 1996 's Two If by Sea ( 4.7! ( with pictures ) Castillo is a member of a crazy white-robe wearing cult a movie... 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