A chance to forget the failure of politics today, with the failure of politics of the past…

Christian Bale embarks on a unique role in his acting career – a fat, elderly man with a passion for waterboarding. Vice tells the tale on how the former Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney, lived up to his first name.

Fed up of the political landscape of today? Want to escape it by fleeing to the cinema? Well, Director Adam McKay’s ‘Vice’ gives you the opportunity to get fed up with the political landscape of the past instead.

We follow McKay’s rather cynical approach to the rise of Cheney, as he goes from alcoholic mess to a political one as he became the most powerful Vice President in US history whilst serving under the idiocy of George W. Bush.

The film has been nominated for eight Oscars, including for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, and it’s easy to see why.

Though the film divided a lot of critics, receiving both positive and negative reviews, I found the cynicism and the sarcasm delightful, though I would be classed as what one of the characters in the film referred to as, a ‘libtard’. Others might disagree with me, but you will always get that with political films, hence the mixed reception.

Christian Bale is known for the great lengths he goes to in order to get into character for a film, though luckily, he didn’t start any unnecessary wars or anything like that.

That being said, his performance as Cheney is inspired, hence the Oscar nomination, as he literally became the detestable man before your eyes, complete with his famous murmurs and grunts. Bale caps it all off with a chilling monologue delivered straight to the camera at the end of the film stating that he had no regrets during his political career and that it was his privilege. By this point, you just love to hate him and sometimes you just need a film like that.

The film is keen to break the fourth wall, as the narration is carried out by Kurt (Jesse Plemons), is the satirical source of much of the film’s humour. Although some of it comes across as needless at times; with the obscure tonal shifts from the comedic narration, to scenes of ordinary dialogue, to Bale’s Cheney and Amy Adams’ delightfully acted Lynne Chaney, partaking in a Shakespearean like scenes where they talk about Cheney’s future prospects. Even though it at times feels needless, it was incredible, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.

There is something gratifying about witnessing Cheney, a man that started a war for his own personal gain, who had no regard for the idea of privacy and betrayed his own daughter by condemning gay marriage even though she was both gay, and an activist for gay marriage; being degraded in such a way that you almost forget about the nature of his actions, and just enjoy laughing at him.

All I can say to summarise is to go and watch the film. We could all learn from it. Obviously, we should all be concerned with the way politics is going, but why not, from time to time, just have a laugh about it.

I came out of the film, after witnessing the atrocities that Cheney had done, and thought to myself: “At least it’s better now,” and then I remembered that Trump was president…

By Cristian Bratu

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