I say, beat Candy because Jane doesnt really care that much about Castillo or Bolivia. Jane meets with Castillo who says shes a liability. 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. Ben admires a shiny dark bowl but Nell takes it from him. The film gives a fictionalized account of the involvement of American political campaign strategists Greenberg Carville Shrum (GCS) in the 2002 Bolivian presidential election. The last movie I reviewed was Burnt, which was called a comedy by many, but I found it not to be a comedy at alljust a drama with occasional humor. Their main tactic is to emphasize the many problems of the economy and present Castillo as the solution. : What The Hell Happened? On a campaign bus heading toward a remote Bolivia location on a small dirt road, they discover Riveras bus is directly ahead of them. The disillusioned Eduardo joins his brothers at a demonstration of people demanding change. Back at the hotel room, Jane is with Eddie and his brothers, ordering room service and still drunk. Nevertheless, theres not much reason for you to take my word over theirs. Castillo immediately punches the man. 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. "Our Brand is Crisis" was one of these pleasant surprises. Candy says he will be going to overseas for a British campaign. "Our Brand Is Crisis" is a fictionalized treatment of the 2005 documentary of the same name, which focused on Bill Clinton's former campaign manager James Carville. Meanwhile, Thornton employs his well-honed smiling/sneering shtick to nicely nasty effect. Its nun versus AI in Damon Lindelofs new series. Our Brand Is Crisis is a sharp political comedy ostensibly based on Bolivia's 2002 presidential election. And while the role of Calamity Jane smacks of Sandra Bullocks brandingthe smart but painfully self-conscious klutz whos also a depressiveits a complicated, maybe even feminist shtick. 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. They plead with him that any negotiations with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) be preceded by a referendum so the people can decide. When shes recruited for a chance to face off in Bolivia against her longtime and similarly depraved rival, Pat Candyportrayed convincingly enough as a stock Billy Bob Thornton character by Billy Bob Thorntonshe signs up. 2023's Most Anticipated Sequels, Prequels, and Spin-offs. She insists Castillo express regret, but not to apologize. There is very little violence. Cyril Ramaphosa's ANC Renew22 grouping believes Eastern Cape . Janes sidekicksplayed by Anthony Mackie, Ann Dowd, Scoot McNairy, and Zoe Kazancant make a dent in Castillos mixture of machismo, cluelessness, and the kind of self-serving patriarchal worldview that regards Bolivias indigenous population as a bunch of children who dont know whats good for them. Jane insist they go negative in spite of this, but Castillo says no. 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. Does he drink too much? This satire, directed by David Gordon Green from a screenplay by Peter Straughan, suffers from deficits of wit, wisdom, focus, filmmaking expertise and appropriate tone. Some said it was staunchly communist. She can quote appropriate nuggets of wisdom from Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" and from the world's leaders and thinkers. A shame, then, that the movie loses its cynical nerve with an utterly phoney finale that ties itself up in conscientious knots. He wants to find triumph in a tale that should be satiric at best and depressing at worst. Ben says, ok. When Jane leaves the meeting with LeBlanc, she instead instructs her to dig up dirt on Castillo, their own candidate. document.write(ts+'script src="http://www.burstnet.com/cgi-bin/ads/ad12539a.cgi/v=2.3S/sz=728x90A|970x66A/'+rnum+'/'+nf+'RETURN-CODE/JS/">'+ts+'/script>'); You can send in your spoiler to other movies by going here. Our Brand is Crisis is more than just the scenario Jane (Sandra Bullock) is selling to the Bolivian public in hopes of bringing her candidate Castillo from a blip on the radar to leading the. Glenn Kenny was the chief film critic of Premiere magazine for almost half of its existence. She looks across the large foyer to see Candy sitting outside his room. Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) is a brilliant strategist, pulse reader and marketing mind. It is only after Bodine arranges for the distribution of a flyer accusing Castillo of a long-ago affair (and blaming it on the opposition) does she finally get him to agree to smear his opponents. [5] On September 11, Scoot McNairy was added to the cast. Let me know how that goes. Jane then joins the mass of people who are walking toward the city. She needs a cigarette, so she walks out the door into a large open foyer. Others discuss plans but Jane is silent. She tells him shes going home tomorrow. He suggests maybe later they can go out. There are also two middle finger displays. [3] The film opened on October 30, 2015, alongside Burnt and Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. She really truly does.). In a Netflix comedy by Katharine McPhees stepdaughter. In Bolivia, altitude sickness (at 12 thousand feet, La Paz is the worlds highest capital) and sickness with the candidate nearly drive her away. Bodine and her crew join Candy on the way to the airport. This movie offers us the tale of the fall and redemption of an unscrupulous white lady -- who we know cannot really be unscrupulous since shes Sandra Bullock. Later Castillo is heard instructing interest rates to be raised to 15%. Oct. 29, 2015. Ben (Anthony Mackie) and Nell (Ann Down) are driving in the snowy mountains (between the mountains, as Jane later corrects them) discussing their plan to sway Jane to work for the campaign of Pedro Castillo, a Senator in Bolivia who is running for President. Before I address the message, Ill review the content. There are 12 misuses of god, Jesus (1), Jesus Christ (1), hell (3) and d*mn (3). Our Brand Is Crisis (2015) Rated R for language including some sexual references. [24], On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 35% based on 147 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10. Terms of Service apply. In 2002, Bolivian politician Pedro Castillo hires an American political consulting firm (based on James Carville's Greenberg Carville Shrum firm) to help him win the 2002 Bolivian presidential election. The movie opens with a title sequence regarding the main character Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) and her rise and fall from hotshot political strategist/image . Thanks for reading the spoiler. Our Brand Is Crisis still could have been an excellent tale, but told through a soft prism of second chances and good intentions, we can't buy what Green is selling. That was almost certainly the final straw. 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. Sometimes its both, as in Kathy Bates sharp-tongued, soft-hearted adviser in Primary Colors. What are you going to do? and then leaves. Preview", "Star-Driven Casualties 'Our Brand Is Crisis' & 'Burnt' At The B.O. Unfortunately, the quote is actually from Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler's minister of propaganda. In the mix is a fine supporting cast including a sensational Thornton . At a large debate with all the candidates, Jane is found behind the stage backdrop during the debate. During the final debate, Bodine cites a quote in a conversation with Candy (knowing that he'll give it to rival candidate Rivera for his speech) saying that "a great man" said it. So they cop out, closing on an unlikely, feel-good character turn for Bodine. Entertaining and provocative, Our Brand Is Crisis is a satirical political drama. 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. A young man working on the campaign, Eduardo (Reynaldo Pacheco) comes to the rescue of Castillo and ushers him away. Jane suggests that Castillo reveal everything that could be used against him, but he refuses. [4] It was theatrically released by Warner Bros. on October 30, 2015. Rated R 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. For those who want more detail, I have written a paragraph below containing spoilers. They are then in a restaurant, the entire campaign team drinking heavily. Jane says There is only one wrong in this, and that is losing. But at the end, the team realizes how wrong they werein a shocking way. [11] More casting was also announced, which included Reynaldo Pacheco, Dominic Flores, Louis Arcella, and Octavio Gmez. At an evening event, Castillo is shaking hands with people behind a barrier. Beyond needing to adjust to her relocation to La Paz however temporary, Jane knows that she has to transform the thinking of the populace to making them want Castillo as their leader as opposed to changing Castillo to something he inherently is not. 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. Reluctantly enlisted to help elect the unlikable bully Castillo (Joaquim de Almeida), Jane gets the bit between her teeth when she discovers that her arch-rival, Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton), is running the oppositions campaign. Although the movie has flashes where everything comes together and we can revel in dark victories, more often than not, star Sandra Bullock is left to carry the crushing emotional and thematic weight of a confused picture that acknowledges that politics is a cheap joke, and then expects us all to laugh. I think you pull it, Joshua Jackson says to Lizzy Caplan sensually. [20], In July 2015, Warner Bros. scheduled the film for an October 30, 2015 release, during the awards season. Have they learned nothing? An SUV carrying the Castillo advisors sees him and stop to give him a ride home, insisted upon by Jane. 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. At least not right away. "- Castillo: This llama will lead us toward prosperity. Jane has accepted the offer and their plane lands in La Paz, Bolivia, which has an elevation of nearly 12,000 feet above sea level. PLEASE share your observations and insights to be posted here. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. 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. The film, directed by David Gordon Green and based on the 2005 documentary of the same name, follows Bullock's character Jane Bodine, a political mastermind brought in to help a Bolivian. Jane wants to overtake it. She describes the Daisy advertisement, which ran exactly once, that turned the election for Lyndon Johnson over Barry Goldwater. Inspired by the 2005 documentary of the . She tells Castillo and the campaign that this is no longer an election, it is a crisis. In the following months, the team exercises a strategy of "declaring a crisis". Director David Gordon Green Writers Rachel Boynton (suggested by the documentary) Peter Straughan (screenplay) Stars Sandra Bullock She doesnt respond. 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. Loosely based on true events, Our Brand Is Crisis, follows Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) and her campaign team when they are hired to help Pedro Castillo win a presidential election in Bolivia. 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. There is only one wrong thing to do, she says: Losing. 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. I need a majority. 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. Eventually Eddie sees her and they make eye contact. Later, two senior advisors argue the crisis brand may have worked with the current crowd, but it wont with the working class. 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