Our Brand is Crisis

Timely and ambitious, “Our Brand is Crisis” is a satirical reflection of our current American political climate set to a backdrop of a South American country in distress and a pair of rival strategists jockeying their candidates in a critical presidential election.

Sandra Bullock is “Calamity” Jane Bodine, a brilliant semi-retired political strategist whose flexible moral compass led her down the path of self-destruction years prior. Tasked with bringing a Bolivian candidate out of the cellar in just eighty days using media, a smear campaign, and some of Jane’s own political tricks, it is a whirlwind of polling, running ads, and pandering to the people.

Billy Bob Thornton is Pat Candy, Jane’s longtime rival who is a globetrotter for the highest bidder. Orchestrating elections without a second thought of consequence or conscience. The two of them are birds of a feather yet they stick out in a sea of South Americans as elitist and disconnected.

Written by Rachel Boynton originally as a documentary in 2005, and adapted by Peter Straughan, the notion is nothing revelatory. It’s an underdog story on the campaign trail, exposing just how depraved and competitive the behind-the-scenes folks truly are. The focus is on the people and not the election, but in this case, glossing over the plight of the Bolivians in greater detail was a mistake. This film would have worked much better for something less serious. Maybe a city council race in Seattle, or the gubernatorial race in Wyoming. An unstable South American country just didn’t really jive with the tone of the characters and what I think was the statement of the film.

The witty repartee between Bullock and Mackie, and Bullock and Thornton throw around clever quotes, political anecdotes, and idealistic rhetoric with lightning speed. The problem is that these characters are more clueless and simple than they let on. And uninteresting. The fact is that “Our Brand is Crisis” has a bit of an identity crisis itself. It wants to be politically relevant, and insightful. It also wants to develop strong characters who establish lasting relationships. But it also wants to tackle some real significant global issues, and use humor to make those issues less painful. It’s too much and not enough.

There is an uncomfortable tension between Bullock’s Jane and Thornton’s Pat that I couldn’t tell whether it was sexual attraction or sexual harassment throughout, and that doesn’t bode well for any film. Sandra Bullock is her typical loud-mouthed character evolving through the interaction with the less fortunate, but in this case, the changes are just too massive for her character to achieve realistically. Thornton is just plain slimy, so kudos for his performance, but his character took things a bit too far.

I can appreciate a good political satire, but there is nothing compelling or original in this story. Perhaps most importantly, there is no appeal for any of the candidates. No mention of any issues or past political miscues with the exception of one that is honestly, pretty irrelevant. A film this deeply rooted in the inner-workings of the corrupt political machine needs to provide some direction to the audience. I wasn’t rooting for any of the candidates because I didn’t know what they stood for, or whether they were decent men or not. I wasn’t rooting for or against Jane because although I recognize her character is riddled with regret, I didn’t have a good feel for where her heart truly lies; remorse, atonement, or resignation. That would make an interesting character study.

The film is harshly bleak and cynical, and that is coming from a cynic. I didn’t enjoy this nearly as much as I was hoping, and whatever message was intended didn’t come through very clearly. 5/10.