2.5/5 Our Brand is Crisis David Gordon Green is a man of many talents. He carries with him a roster of undeniable hits, but for every gem there is a one hundred pound clunker. For every Pineapple Express, there is a Your Highness. For every Joe, there is an Our Brand is Crisis. Crisis, the story about a disgraced American campaign manager trying to win a Bolivian presidential campaign, is not a complete failure like Highness or The Sitter is. However, its mediocrity far outweighs any good attributes it caries. You almost wish it was flat out terrible; at least we’re still talking about a bomb like Your Highness. I’m afraid no one will ever think twice about his latest. Maybe something as forgettable as Crisis is more damaging for Green’s career than anything. Let’s dig a little deeper. Our Brand is Crisis is, like most dramas these days, “based on a true story,” but a more accurate heading might be “sort of, kind of (but not really) based on a true story.” The inspiration is the 2005 documentary of the same name. Disgraced after some erratic behavior and a string of losses, “Calamity” Jane - all the names have been changed for obvious reasons - has since become a recluse in a mountain cabin spinning pottery and working on her sobriety. Having the movie start out this way, you know how well her good behavior is going to last. Before you know it, some old colleagues have swept Jane off to Bolivia to help presidential candidate Castillo, a Conservative, rich, jerk off of a candidate that may feel too familiar in our current political climate. | Director: David Gordon Green Starring: Sandra Bullock, Billy Bob Thornton Writer: Peter Straughan |
I believe that is Green’s intentions with the film: to add another notch to the cynical political drama sub-genre. Crisis is cynical, yes, but it fails to saying anything new or meaningful to the conversation about the death of well-intentioned politics. With Jane campaigning for such a idealess, she is giving her all for someone who will not likely make any change. Movies were making more radical statements back in the seventies, the decade in which our pessimist governmental mindset was born. Maybe the timing was off. A few years ago, Crisis might have actually been capable of unsettling us. In this world of Trump politics, however, the stuff of Green’s film is borderline snooze-worthy. Turning on Fox or CNN or any other news station will give you way more entertainment/reason to be worried. Whether it’s too late or too early to the party, Crisis sure is a bummer.
The only thing that makes the film bearable is the performances. Sandra Bullock, who’s white savior style of character has become a sub-genre of its own, is her reliable self. She has to know she’s the best thing about these movies she keeps signing on for - maybe that’s why she is doing them. Behind her are effective supporting roles for the likes of Billy Bob Thornton, Anthony Mackie, Joaquim de Almeida, Ann Dowd (The Leftovers), and Reynaldo Pacheco, who plays the only idealist in a sea of cynics. A touch of inspiration sprouts up in the ending, but it’s a case of too-little-too-late. The good news: David Gordon Green is now due for a good movie.
The only thing that makes the film bearable is the performances. Sandra Bullock, who’s white savior style of character has become a sub-genre of its own, is her reliable self. She has to know she’s the best thing about these movies she keeps signing on for - maybe that’s why she is doing them. Behind her are effective supporting roles for the likes of Billy Bob Thornton, Anthony Mackie, Joaquim de Almeida, Ann Dowd (The Leftovers), and Reynaldo Pacheco, who plays the only idealist in a sea of cynics. A touch of inspiration sprouts up in the ending, but it’s a case of too-little-too-late. The good news: David Gordon Green is now due for a good movie.