Film Review: "Vice" (2018).

"The Untold True Story That Changed the Course of History." This is Vice. This biographical comedy-drama film written and directed by Adam McKay. The film tells the story of Dick Cheney, an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that we still feel today.

In late November 2016, it was announced that Paramount Pictures had come on board to handle the rights to a drama about Dick Cheney, who moved from Halliburton chief executive to become reputedly the most powerful Vice President in American history, with McKay, attached to write and direct. In April 2017, Bale signed on to play Cheney, and gained 45 pounds for the role, shaved his head, bleached his eyebrows and exercised to thicken his neck for his role as Cheney. Bale said he achieved his hefty physique for the film by eating a lot of pies. Due to the improvisational directing style of McKay, Bale had to do more research for this film than any other film he's done. In order to ad-lib in character, Bale not only needed to have Dick Cheney's mannerisms and vernacular down, but he also had to know which policies, their instances, and abbreviations the Vice President would be aware of at any given moment in his life. Bale was McKay's only choice to play Dick Cheney. Having worked together on The Big Short (2015), McKay was impressed by Bale's ability to psychologically break a character apart and put them together again. McKay said, "The second I thought of doing the movie, I knew right away, the most exciting person to play him is Christian." In late August, the title of Backseat was announced. By late September, Amy Adams, Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell, Alison Pill, Lily Rabe, Tyler Perry, LisaGay Hamilton, Eddie Marsan, Shea Whigham, and Jesse Plemons had rounded the cast. Bill Pullman was attached to play Nelson Rockefeller, but his scenes were cut from the final film. In the same month, Principal photography commenced. A musical sequence was filmed, but it was cut in editing after McKay decided to shift to a more serious tone.

The film stars Bale as Dick Cheney, Adams as Lynne Cheney, Carell as Donald Rumsfeld, Rockwell as George W. Bush, Pill as Mary Cheney, Rabe as Liz Cheney, Perry as Colin Powell, Hamilton as Condoleezza Rice, Marsan as Paul Wolfowitz, Whigham as Wayne Vincent, and Plemons as the narrator. The cast didn't necessarily stay completely accurate to their real-life counterparts. But the success of this film is due to the work they have given with their characters.

Vice approaches a serious, complicated subject with an impressive attention to detail – and manages to deliver a well-acted, scathingly funny indictment of its real-life villain at the centre. It's funny because it's true. And it's tragic and frightening for the same reason. The film manages to be as enlightening as it is entertaining. But its ominous revelations linger long after it's over.

Simon says Vice receives:

Also, see my review for The Big Short.