IN THE LOOP 
Starring:
Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander, Gina McKee, James Gandolfini, Chris Addison, Anna Chlumsky and Mimi Kennedy
Director:
Armando Iannucci
Running Time:
106 mins
Out to buy on DVD/Blu-Ray 24/08/09
"Climb the mountain of conflict"
With the US President and the UK Prime Minister pushing for war, British Secretary of State for International Development, Simon Foster (Hollander) draws attention to himself by going against the party line in an interview. Saying to reporters that we have to ‘Climb the Mountain of Conflict’, the media jump on the fact that a minster in backing military action and this brings the very small political fish to the attention of the very large sharks in Washington, D.C. This also brings him to the attention of the Prime Minster’s spin-doctor Malcolm Tucker (Capaldi) who now has to put a positive spin on the mess that Simon Foster has created before the Americans use this to there advantage.
Political satire is a difficult form of comedy to get right but in the hands of Armando Iannucci could we have something special?
Better known for his hit comedy TV shows, Armando Iannucci transfers his considerable talent to the big screen and his is certainly a career that has been building to this. The writer/director cut his comedic teeth bringing us ‘The Day Today’, ‘Time Trumpet’, ‘The Thick of it’ and the Steve Coogan classic series ‘I’m Alan Partridge’ and now brings his mastery of political comedy to the big screen in what has to be one of the most insightful and funny satires to grace film in many a year.
The current state of the world might not seem like a subject to draw comedy from but Iannucci and his creative team do just that. With the war on terror continuing and the reasons behind the deployment of US, UK and UN troops in Iraq and Afghanistan becoming all the more clouded, ‘In the Loop’ uses this to give us an insight into the political shenanigans that exist to push the Western countries into war.
The main emphasis of the piece is a sentence that a lowly minster utters when panicked into a statement by the press and the political repercussions of this. Here we see how someone as unimportant as Simon Foster can quickly become a political pawn for a much bigger agenda that sees him become back of a process that could lead to war. With US Military officials wanting to meet him, American politicians wanting to get him on side and first class trips to Washington D.C., Simon Foster and his own team have to deal with new challenges as well as dealing with a problem within his own constituency that could derail his advancement in the political ranks. Throw in American and British political agendas, Anglo-US relationships getting a little too close, a foul-mouthed spin-doctor and a wall that could fall and bring down everything and you have a movie that is comically sharp and incredibly clever.
For a movie like this you need a strong cast who can deliver the cutting dialogue and be believable as the political hierarchy and the great news is that Armando Iannucci and his creative team have gathered together a very strong cast. Tom Hollander is perfectly cast as bumbling Secretary of State for International Development, Simon Foster. Playing the role like a wide mouthed kid who has just got to sit at the adult table, Hollander makes Foster the political puppet you can imagine, as the younger, naïve minsters are pulled into a way of thinking by the seasoned pros. His inner circle and the brains behind the man are expertly played by Gina McKee and Chris Addison as Toby Wright. On the US side we have former ‘Soprano’ James Gandolfini as Lt. Gen. George Miller, Mimi Kennedy as political high-roller Karen Clarke and former child actress Anna Chlumsky as her assistant Liza Weld. The driving force of the movie however is Peter Capaldi’s fabulously foul-mouthed spin-doctor Malcolm Tucker. The Scot is superb and brings one of the great political satire characters to life with immense gusto, supplying most of the big belly laughs of the piece.
‘In the Loop’ is one of the best political satires to hit the big screen in a very long time. Armando Iannucci makes the step up to cinema with ease and shows how good he is to a much wider audience. With fantastic performances throughout, cutting edge and extremely funny dialogue and a plot that resonates with the current political climate, this is a must watch piece of British cinema.
PICTURE & SOUND
Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.
BONUS FEATURES
Deleted Scenes (27.28 mins)
A montage of scenes that were removed from the final edit of the film, which suffers from the lack of a commentary track or introduction to explain why they were removed.
Interviews
Watch interviews with stars Gina McKee, Chris Addison, Tom Hollander, Peter Capaldi and director Armando Iannucci.
Trailer (1.50 mins)
Watch the preview of the movie that showcased the film in cinemas and online.
Webisodes (12.34 mins)
Entitled ‘Chad and Tobey’, ‘A Day in the Life of the State Department’, ‘Jamie McDonald: The Crossest Man in Scotland’, these behind the scenes short featurettes were showcased online.
Audio Commentary with the cast and director
Writer/director Armando Iannucci and stars Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander, Chris Addison and Gina McKee come together to provide a funny and chatty commentary track for ‘In the Loop’.
Trailers
Previews of ‘The Wrestler’, ‘Che Part 1 & 2’ and ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’
OVERALL
The DVD treatment for ‘In the Loop’ is one that fans of the film will enjoy. The commentary track is very good and the featurettes are fun and informative, making this a good package.
DVD 
