'Vice' A Review

Vice is a montage heavy biopic about former Vice President Dick Cheney. The film opens on Dick(Christian Bale) getting pulled over for a DUI stop in the 60's, it flashes forward to him as VP getting rushed to a bunker directly after the 9/11 attacks. Flashing back and forth in time with considerable narration, still images, and archival footage the life of the elusive man-behind-the-throne of the W. Bush presidency is investigated and partially elucidated.

Bale, as always, gives every thing he has to the performance. Transforming and channeling Cheney in an astonishing way. Although much of Cheney's internal life, his thoughts and decisions, are still left unclear in the film you get the impression that Bale knows, that's how confident his portrayal is. Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney is also supremely confident, with an incredible scene between the two early on when Lynne calls Dick to the carpet for being a zero. The rest are well cast with Sam Rockwell as W. really shining unfortunately as a result of the fernetic format the actors really aren't given that much time to really act. There is virtually no scene longer than one minute that is not interrupted by narration, hard cuts, or cuts to still images. This creates a feeling of energy and momentum but a considerable amount of depth is lost.

It seems unclear who this film is for. Having lived through the time Cheney was in power myself this contains nothing particularly new. I would hazard a guess the film is meant to energize and educate the younger generation but even if that is the intent it would service the message more to let scenes breath and to let the phenomenal cast do their work. Part of the intent is to seemingly understand the motivations and mindset of Cheney and he is simply not onscreen enough to do that.

The film does succeed exceedingly well in conveying the nature of machinations of power. And confirms that old adage the power corrupts. As an echo and a warning to our current time and administration the film succeeds to a degree but art should not only reflect it should transcend or inspire. Ultimately the film, for all its ambitions and talent, lies relatively flat.

The question isn't how was and is our democracy perverted, at this juncture that is almost immaterial, and unfortunately that seems to be the sole focus of the film. The question is how do we move forward, what does the future hold, what can be done, what can we do. The film does not ask or answer these questions.

Rent It.