“An Opportunity Man,” a review of “Vice” by Nathan H. Box
Recommendation: 4/5 Stars, SHOWTIME
Director: Adam McKay, Writer: Adam McKay, Starring: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve Carell
Plot: “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.” -IMBD
Review: “Behind every good man is a good woman” is how the old saying goes. From where I sit, I don’t know if I would call Dick Cheney a “good man.” With that said, the woman standing behind the future Vice President of the United States, Lynne Cheney, was the driving force behind the power he assumed. It was the pressure she applied that forced him to be a better man.
Adam McKay who directed “The Big Short” about the 2008 financial crisis opens this story on a young Dick Cheney running line in Wyoming. After flunking out of Yale, Cheney has returned home. We find a man who drinks too much and cares too little for his future. With Lynne Cheney at his side, it is her pushing and prodding that begins to right the ship. In the blink of an eye, a man with no direction is turned into a man of opportunity. With this change, comes an unquenchable lust for power. We are also afforded an opportunity to see the softer side of the future Vice President as he plays the part of father and doting husband.
Throughout this movie, we get to laugh more than we should especially when you consider this film is about a Washington bureaucrat. The comedy that is found here is thanks to the brilliant writing of McKay and an Oscar-worthy performance by Christian Bale who portrays the Veep. In fact, one of the most memorable scenes in the film takes place between the Cheney’s as they lie in bed and the script gives way to Shakespeare. These moments matter, because the power dynamic between the couple is an odd one; like the Underwood’s in “House of Cards.” Case in point, the Cheney’s at an event with then-President George H.W. Bush. As we watch them take in the room, you get the sense they are like snakes waiting in the grass calculating their moment to strike.
Of course, Dick Cheney’s coup de grace is 9/11. This is when he became one of the most consequential men in the history of the United States. It was that event and all the days following it where we got to see Dick flex his muscle and put into place his ideal form of government. As a student of history, the decisions he made and those he persuaded the president to make made an indelible mark on our country and the world putting us on a course where the ramifications are still being felt. If you are fishing for a better understanding of this period in time and the chaos it ensued, then I highly recommend giving this movie a chance.
Be good to each other,
-Nathan
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