In The Loop

Regular readers will know that this was my favourite film of 2009. I had seen it at the Sydney Film Festival in June. I recently had the chance to attend a Q & A screening of the film with the director, an opportunity I could not pass up.

I'm a huge fan of political satire, it is one of my favourite forms of comedy. While I do watch and read the news, most of the information I get from politics comes from satirical programs and comedy shows. When I looked through the Sydney Film Festival program and came across this film I just had to see it. Armando Iannucci is one of the biggest names in British comedy. Something I did not know until I saw this film. The brilliance of the film has made me want to seek out his earlier work. Especially 'The Thick Of It', the TV series on which this film is partially based. I have never laughed as hard or as much in a film in a long time. Even when this was the 4Th time I've seen the film (I bought it on blu-ray from the UK). The comedy comes from some of the most brilliant lines I've heard in a film. I need to warn you though that the film is literally filled with coarse language. But it is some of the most creative coarse language ever heard in a film. Speaking at the Q & A Armando spoke of how the writers wanted to use coarse language but in a more creative way. They have definitely succeeded. He also spoke of how some parts of the plot came from real events in the lead up to the invasion of Iraq. It makes you wonder how much of a farce real politics is.

The acting in this film is simply brilliant. All the characters are wonderfully realised by an excellent ensemble cast. James Gandolfini is probably the best know. He is so funny as a General and proves he can do comedy as well as drama. Tom Hollander you will all recognise from 'Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End'. He plays a character with less confidence here and is brilliant at stumbling his way into trouble. It was great to see Anna Chlumsky from the 'My Girl' movies back on the big screen. The real star of the film though is Peter Capaldi. The man is a force of nature in this film and has most of the best lines. He swears in almost every sentence he utters but does it in so many hilarious ways.

A brilliant political comedy that is incredibly funny. If you are offended too much by bad language then maybe you won't like it. But you should try to get past this to see some of the cleverest writing in a film in a long time. Please make sure you check it out.