Vice

Surprised this doesn't get any attention daily. Was shocking what they did. Not sure adding a comedic look on this helps matters.

Vice is biographical comedy-drama written and directed by Adam McKay, which follows the career and life of vice president Dick Cheney.



I went into this film with no knowledge whatsoever of American politics or Dick Cheney, topics I’m not particularly passionate about to say the least. However, due to the imaginative and clever use of narration, I could move through the film with a basic understanding of what was going on, even if many of the details went straight over my head. Considering I am also not interested in politics, I was constantly engaged and the way the plot was handled allowed it to be more compelling than I was expecting. Funny moments throughout kept the story interesting and McKay cleverly focused on the more exciting parts of the events. Therefore, you still have the potential to enjoy this film even if you can’t recall who Dick Cheney is, let alone what he did.



The acting in Vice is incredible. I’ve watched a few interviews of Dick Cheney since the film, and the way Christian Bale mimics his vocal and physical mannerisms is perfect. His physical transformation is also excellent, which is partly credited to his weight gain and to the amazing work of the makeup department. Amy Adams proves herself yet again as a highly skilled actress, with a layered portrayal of Dick Cheney’s wife Lynne. Although Sam Rockwell’s performance is good, it’s too simple to be worthy of an Oscar nomination for me.



I’ve seen many critics describe McKay’s directing style as a love-it-or-hate-it, and I definitely agree that it is “cinematic marmite”. Unfortunately, I’m not one of the lovers. I respect and admire the risks McKay takes, and I can completely see how anyone could adore his choices, however they didn’t work for me. In order to allow the audience to understand who’s who and what’s what, McKay repeatedly “freezes” the film and allows the narrator to give a brief explanation. Although this does successfully meet its intention, so much information is constantly being given to the audience that it feels overwhelming. The satirical moments were very hit or miss: faux credits halfway through had me hysterical, but a scene in which two of the characters speak as if in a Shakespearean play left me cringing. Various violent news images ranging from torture to kidnap to murder occasionally stole the screen, making me jump each time and leaving my feeling nervous for minutes afterwards incase another appeared. This combined with the extremely loud sound effects made me feel on edge and tense. I expect this didn’t bother many other audience members, however I want to mention it as a warning to anyone who is sensitive to upsetting scenes of news coverage. I also felt the shift backwards and forwards between time periods was unnecessary and just confusing.



In conclusion, although I didn’t personally enjoy Vice, I respect its unique filmmaking and the way in which it turned what many would find a mundane topic into an enthralling story. If you love The Big Short, which is also directed by McKay and is in the exact same style, you’ll love Vice.

I found the acting great but I was a little concerned at the comedy aspect of Vice. Yes, it's important to have a little sense of humour in these things but these were serious times for the US. All in all though Bale, Adams and Carell were of the highest quality and yes I agree this will pick up plenty of Oscars.

Vice is absolutely fanstatic and well worth the entry fee. They can get ready for plenty of Oscars. For anyone having opinions on Dick Cheney, they are bound to change for both the good and bad now.

How good is Christian Bale?! He seriously has to be in the top 3 of all time for acting. The film though delivers on everything and even though it's deadly serious historically, the way they have somehow put a huge comical element on it is amazing.