Que le meilleur gagne

"No wrong but losing."

Three things I learned from watching David Gordon Green's Our Brand is Crisis: 1. Politics is universally corrupt—The Bolivian election "Calamity" Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) is hired as a strategist for has the very machinations extant in our own balloting as I write this column.

2. What a candidate does after election may have nothing to do what he or she promised to get elected.

3. Sandra Bullock can act--heretofore I have not been impressed, but in this film she sheds her cute starlet demeanor and plays a bright, depressive, frequently losing marketing adviser with enough brilliance left after her battles to pull together a competitive campaign. Her fragile nature combined with grit makes for a moderately complicated character.

Our Brand is Crisis, adapted by director David Gordon Green and writer Peter Straughan from Rachel Boynton's 2005 documentary of the same name, is sometimes uncompromising about the low-ball shenanigans of a campaign, with tricks such as spreading lies about an opponent or spreading lies about your candidate to allow him to deny and ascribe the rumor to his opponent.

It is gratifying to see that Jane is not above dirty tricks, nor does she win each skirmish with the likes of her marketing opponent, Pat Brady (a slick, smarmy, bald Billy Bob Thornton, based on Clinton strategist James Carville).

Jane's past includes a stint at a mental hospital and questionable tactics, one of which apparently led to a suicide. She is not the usual glam Bullock; rather she is a shaggy, disheveled blond with self doubt and frequently nauseous from the Bolivian altitude. At any rate she is not the consultant Senator Castillo (Joaquin de Almeida) thought he was paying for.

Nor does the film give her transcendent moments of inspiration: What comes of success is learned experience and a bit of luck. No deus ex machina in this drama. In fact, as Green marries her pratfalls with her sometimes drunken speech, it's difficult to see where the usually focused Green and his movie want us to go: Drama? Comedy? Satire?

The differences between what Jane wants from the candidate and what he wants provide effective moments of speechifying that illuminate the process and develop character. Ben (Anthony Mackie), who runs the campaign, has the right stuff to hire Jane and question her methods while retaining a healthy sense of humor.

Our Brand is Crisis is a not-too-subtle look into politics and marketing. Although you won't be surprised, you will be gratified that what you suspected about the dirty tactics that go along with each is true. Just put a few top actors in the roles, and you will believe.

Political consultant Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) had a mental breakdown and lives in seclusion. Nell (Ann Dowd), Buckley (Scoot McNairy), and Ben (Anthony Mackie) hire her to consult on the failing campaign of Pedro Castillo (Joaquim de Almeida) as Bolivian President. He is a former leader who instigated harsh tactics and politics. She discovers old foe Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton) is running the leading candidate's campaign. She brings in LeBlanc (Zoe Kazan) to do opposition research.

This movie wants to be a powerful statement against politics but is also trying to be a silly comedy. The fact that it's dealing with realistic world politics means that it needs to be more vicious. It needs to be darker. It needs to hit harder. The charismatic Bullock is stuck in no-woman's land. She is still compelling and fun although fun is not necessarily the needed adjective.

It's been awhile since Sandra Bullock has been able to immerse herself in a role. It's wonderful to see her back on the screen. Her character here is a political strategist who's flawed in ways that make her appealing. No other actress does sarcasm and feisty in the same breath as well as Bullock. Especially when she does it with a subtle nod to humility. This is a movie which will not appeal to everyone because it's about a political campaign and campaigns are the same whether in the U.S. or in another country. Unless you appreciate the games played in getting anyone elected this will feel labored. The entire cast is excellent. Thornton and Bullock apparently are friends off-screen and their scenes together aren't nearly enough as they are out for the same result. One of the smarter movies I've seen this year.

Just watched this with my movie theatre-working friend. It stars Sandra Bullock as a political consultant who comes to Bolivia to help a presidential candidate win an election. It's a long road for her and her team and the candidate had been president before and is seen as out-of-touch with the current reality. It's funny in spots and is a little serious and is pretty enjoyable when being both either in separate scenes or at the same time. I'm not sure I understood everything that was going on but I did understand what it was basically about: that politics is dirty and one shouldn't expect whoever one supports to be clean, no matter what as a result. Still, it's always nice to believe in something when these things are going on. So on that note, Our Brand Is Crisis is worth a look. P.S. I didn't know some of the scenes were shot in New Orleans, which is only a couple of hours from where I currently live.

There are numerous movies and TV series that are dealing with elections. Most of them are focusing (obviously) in the electoral race and their climax is the outcome of the election. Some of them though have a stronger, more political message. A "morale" if you prefer...

"Our Brand Is Crisis" starts as a comedy but in its epilogue says some hard truths about the world we are living.

Sandra Bullock stars as the depressed campaign manager who essentially wants to beat her opposite colleague (a really thin Billy Bob Thornton) with whom share a past both professionally and personally. She looks really good, especially in the beginning of the film, before she experiences "soroche" (Altitude sickness) in the heights of Bolivia.

The script is intelligent and has a few funny moments, but it is obvious that the winning an electoral race isn't the main theme here. It is what happens after that. How easily could manipulate people, who hasn't realized that his vote it is not only his strongest power, it is his only power.

Politicians have fake promises and lies into their blood stream. They could tell and promise anything so they get elected and then forget about it. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it, but still act and vote without really thinking. "Our Brand Is Crisis" tries to remind that to its audience.

Overall: A movie which easy to watch. Not a "big" movie. Has its moments. Sandy looks good and there is a morale so to make you think twice before you vote in the next elections...