Calamity Jane Bodine (Bullock) was a vaunted political strategist, but the emotional toll of the campaigns coupled with substance abuse problems forced her into early retirement where she may not be happy, but shes grateful that shes calm. By what name was Our Brand Is Crisis (2015) officially released in India in English? When Bullocks passionately advocating goes negative, or Thorntons smirkingly plays Mephistopheles to her from across their hotel balconytheyre close enough to speak to each other directly, but insist on staying on their cell phonesthe movie builds up an infectious energy. Mick LaSalle is the film critic for the San . That kind of consumer response is pretty remarkable, and it also says something about each brand's crisis management strategies. "Wake up, this is war. I can barely imagine the humiliation! 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 . 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. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here. Our Brand Is Crisis review - dirty political dealings in South America. Jane says the llama cant stand the commercial so badly, he killed himself. To handle this scandal, Castillo is interviewed on TV and explains it was a visit to his son, who IS a member of the cult, and he had to wear the robe. Karen Kunawicz. A man in a mask jumps the barrier and smashes an egg on Castillos forehead. For people who want the vastly more interesting real history of Americas misbegotten meddling in Bolivia just one chapter, of course, in a much larger global story Boyntons film is out there, and so is what happened later. Preview", "Star-Driven Casualties 'Our Brand Is Crisis' & 'Burnt' At The B.O. She is then seen in the middle of the protest, and sees Eddie. At least not right away. Sandra Bullock (who shares producer credits with, among others, George Clooney and Grant Heslov) is the reclusive political strategist Calamity Jane Bodine, who turned her back on her profession after one dirty trick too many. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. At a Rivera campaign stop, Jane is seen talking to Candy. Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) is a brilliant strategist, pulse reader and marketing mind. What part should morality play in politics? So those questions remain in the dim and dusty background, behind the quasi-hilarious dirty tricks, the long nights of booze, the almost-condescending interactions with indigenous Bolivians and the rivalrous relationship tinged with both tragedy and Eros between Jane and Thorntons Mephistophelean (and distinctly Carville-like) Pat Candy. After a traumatizing career as a political campaign consultant, Bodine has retired to the snowy mountains, where she doesnt smoke and makes bowls. 1h 47m. In a restaurant, Jane sits alone until Candy sits next to her. Read full review SEE ALL 35 REVIEWS User Score Write a Review 6.4 Positive: 23 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? 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. When youre in the movie reviewing ministry, a variety of messages and agendas come and go. She tells Nell she needs to pull some string with her contacts at the Bolivian State Department, in order to take votes from Castillo, and give them to Volasco (another candidate). She looks across the large foyer to see Candy sitting outside his room. And in the real Bolivian election of 02, there was no rivalry between warring American spin doctors working for different candidates, because Goni was the only candidate who got that kind of help, in clear preference to his populist opponents on both the right and left. This is yet another film that could have been PG (maybe PG-13 due to a mooning scene) with a cleaner script. Bullock plays Calamity Jane Bodine, a legendary practitioner of the dark political arts who comes out of semi-retirement to navigate the hapless ex-president back to the top job. A llama is shown getting hit by a car. Its also revealed that Candy is the one who ran over the llama during the commercial shoot. Gonis second term as president barely lasted a year, after his plans to allow an international consortium to build a pipeline and ship Bolivian natural gas to North America at dirt-cheap prices sparked a massive popular uprising. 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. Candys played by Billy Bob Thornton, and his serpentine southern charm and minimalist tonsorial stylings suggest real-life political maven James Carville (and it is perhaps no accident that Thornton played a deep-fried political strategist in Primary Colors, too) who was in the aforementioned documentary. 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.. Nevertheless, theres not much reason for you to take my word over theirs. "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,. They reluctantly agree, but the city is in gridlock due to the protests, which are on the verge of becoming riots. The 2005 Our Brand Is Crisis was the second documentary about Carvilles political work, following 1993s The War Room, in addition to Carvilles dramatic acting rsumand cable news career. The interviewer says she's been known by many names, most notably "Calamity Jane". It casts a skeptical eye at the gospel of globalization thats preached by Janes team, but its outrage is more directed at cynicism than at any specific system. [8] On September 24, Ann Dowd joined the film. Candy tells her he knows it was Jane who planted the fliers of Castillos infidelity in order to force Castillo to run a negative campaign. (Vice) President Selina Meyers (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) has a stable of advisers including Dan Egan (Reid Scott) and Jonah Ryan (Timothy Simons) who have internalized and aspire to the Carville cult; its just that reality interrupts to remind them that things dont work like that. A battle-hardened American political consultant is sent to help re-elect a controversial president in Bolivia, where she must compete with a long-term rival working for another candidate. All rights reserved. She can quote appropriate nuggets of wisdom from Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" and from the world's leaders and thinkers. In her eyes, her job is done. Starring Sandra Bullock and Billy Bob Thornton. 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. This was the lowest wide release opening of Bullock's career, beating 1996's Two If by Sea ($4.7 million). Politics takes to cynicism like shit to a cesspool. Any empathy the audience feels for the nauseous Bodine is likely explained by . OUR BRAND IS CRISIS barely holds together as the story moves from campaign incident to campaign incident. At an evening event, Castillo is shaking hands with people behind a barrier. As the site's Chief Film Critic, he has authored hundreds of reviews and covered major film festivals including the Toronto International Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival. It also sets up a Hollywood ending that all but wrecks the movie. Finally, she meets with Castillo for their first conversation. Who paid for it? What the hell was James Carville and Stan Greenbergs consulting firm with its close ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party leadership class doing in one of South Americas smallest and poorest nations? Jane next starts a rumor that Rivera is a Nazi, based on no real facts, but a fuzzy picture showing him with Nazi propaganda. So I knew that, in this case, I would just have to find out for myself. Our Brand is Crisis may be director David Gordon Green's most sterile picture yet, but it's redeemed somewhat by Sandra Bullock's lead performance, as well as a talented ensemble cast . "Crisis management is the process by which an organization deals with a disruptive and unexpected event that threatens to harm the organization or its stakeholders. It's a case study, if nothing else, of starting with a dubious idea and making it downright awful. 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. They just decided to be ingratiating and sentimental. Eddie replies, what about you? The film is directed by David. Around the edges of this story about Bullocks character, an especially ruthless consultant known as Calamity Jane, there are a few intriguing hints of other stories about the international financial system, the power of fear in politics and the American understanding of what democracy means when applied to other people in other countries. Castillo promises them that he will not invite the IMF without a public referendum. Someone smashes an egg on Castillo, who spectacularly punches the assailant. After this incident, however, Castillo shows the other side of him by being kind to protesters who throw rocks at his bus. Jane says its time to go negative. Several candidates separate the two. They make big promises that mean jack shit. Getting hurt is unavoidable, she tells him. Calamity Jane (Sandra Bullock), has been lured out of retirement by gobs of money and a challenge: Can she convince the Bolivian people to elect as president an unpopular, arrogant, cigar-chomping oligarch named Castillo (Joaquim de Almeida)who was already president once and bungled the job? Before long the SUV comes to a stop in the heavy traffic on the tiny streets. Montage of the press reporting throughout the day. She really truly does.). He overhears him making plans to visit the IMF in New York, and is crestfallen. In the movie reviewing ministry, a variety of messages and agendas come and go marketing mind yet! Knew that, in this case, I would just have to find out for myself yet film! The heavy traffic on the tiny streets quot ; Wake up, this is yet film! 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