If Monty Python wasn’t evidence enough, In The Loop is proof that the Brits are comedic geniuses. Writer-director Armando Iannucci has succeeded in marrying the low-brow spontaneity of The Office with the intellectual subject matter of The West Wing. The result is an acerbic look at the diplomatic process that strips away the facade of idealism and rhetoric on which politicians so often rely.
In the months preceding the Iraq war, British minister of international development Simon Foster (Hollander) breaks with official policy and tells a reporter that war in Iraq is “unforeseeable.” Furious that he has downplayed the likelihood of war, as well as that he has undermined the government’s seeming indecisiveness, the Prime Minister’s director of communications Malcolm Tucker (Capaldi) demands that Foster help rectify the situation by keeping his mouth shut.
Foster does anything but. His propensity for saying the wrong thing thrusts him onto the international stage, where every word he utters is picked apart for hints of what the official stance on the war might be.
Though the film is entertaining from the start, it is once Foster and his assistant Toby (Addison) arrive in America that In The Loop really shines. The spiraling political alliances, back-stabbings, and power struggles begin to play out, providing a scathing examination of politicians’ true motivations.
Capaldi’s portrayal of the hot-tempered Malcolm makes him the standout of the film, but at times his expletive-riddled fury becomes tired and overdone — particularly with the later addition of an enraged Scotsman. However both bureaucrats are balanced by a coterie of other characters with far more subdued personality quirks.
The film’s hand-held camera work and sudden jump-cuts are at times disorienting, but, after all, the world of politics is a fast-paced and dizzying one. The frantic pacing is also a nice contrast to the glamorization of government that is typical of Hollywood movies.
In The Loop is more than a political thriller; it is also a comedy, bound to keep audiences laughing from start-to-finish. The screenplay is full of unforgettable quips, and the satire is both intelligent and well-acted. While the ending may leave audiences feeling unsatisfied, it is precisely that discomfort that is testament to Iannucci’s satirical abilities.
