Vice

photo courtesy of deseretnews.com

MILD SPOILERS

     In Vice, writer-director Adam McKay depicts Dick Cheney’s rise from a Nixon-era White House internship to the Vice Presidency under George W. Bush. Christian Bale plays Dick Cheney, and he’s joined by Amy Adams (Dick’s wife, Lynne), Steve Carrell (Donald Rumsfeld), and Sam Rockwell (George W. Bush). Tyler Perry, Alison Pill, Lily Rabe, and Jesse Plemons have supporting roles.

     Vice takes an approach similar to The Big Short (2015), McKay’s first foray into drama after years of comedic collaborations with Will Ferrell (like Anchorman and Step Brothers). The Big Short mixes its more dramatic impulses with stylistic asides to the audience, as in one scene which sees Margot Robbie, sipping champagne in a bathtub, break the fourth wall to explain subprime loans to the audience. McKay uses the same kind of tricks and techniques to liven up the story in Vice, though this time it doesn’t feel quite so fresh.

photo courtesy of tulsaworld.com

     Vice’s major draw is Bale’s transformation into Cheney—and for good reason. It’s the sort of uncanny performance, aided by impressive makeup work, that makes a movie. Even in Cheney’s younger years, where the makeup effects aren’t so in-your-face, Bale’s mastery of Cheney’s ticks and mannerisms is remarkable.

     And Vice’s subject matter fascinates. Cheney is (according to the movie’s opening text) a highly secretive figure, which makes this examination of his public and private life all the more interesting. In a few places, Vice absolutely nails it, bringing an emotional scene or a biting criticism to a head with incisive precision. For the most part, however, the movie almost reads like a political documentary: more informative than dramatic, per se.

     Of course, we get everything through McKay’s eyes, and McKay doesn’t seem particularly worried about subtlety. Although the movie frames itself as a true story—or, as the opening text admits, the filmmakers “did [their] fucking best”—it occasionally veers off into murkier territory (cartoonish caricatures of certain people, most noticeably) that undermines its credibility.

photo courtesy of theoaklandpress.com

     Then, at the end, when the movie attempts to widen its scope to show the modern-day effects of Cheney’s tenure in office (sort of like how BlacKkKlansman’s ending zooms out to show the Charlottesville riots), the filmmakers can’t quite pull it off. After that, Vice tries to drive the point home with an unusual scene in which Cheney breaks the fourth wall. Were it not for the eerily similar video that Kevin Spacey just released, I would have called the scene on-the-nose and unfair. Suffice it to say: I think Vice might just be preaching to the choir.

     If that weren’t enough, Vice is hampered by the same unconventional techniques that made The Big Short feel inventive. In Vice, the asides and jabs start off amusing, become annoying… and finally arrive at obstructive and distracting. The storytelling could do with a bit more clarity and a bit less choppy back and forth.

Vice is rated R for language and some violent images.

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