VICE REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Adam McKay can be described as a ‘Marmite’ director, meaning you either love his films or hate them. In the early 2000s, he became widely known for his comedies starring Will Ferrell, including Anchorman, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Step Brothers and The Other Guys. However, in 2015, McKay made the transition from directing comedies to drama, with his feature, The Big Short, focusing on the financial crisis in America in 2005 and starring an ensemble cast that included Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell and Brad Pitt. With The Big Short, McKay proved to have a unique way of telling the story and explaining the definitions of terms used in the film. For example, one memorable scene featured a cameo from Margot Robbie who, whilst in a bathtub, explains what a ‘subprime loan’ is. While his directing style received mixed reviews from critics, praise went to the acting, with Bale leaving a lasting impression with his portrayal of Michael Burry. It went on to be successful at the Academy Awards in 2016, with McKay’s screenplay, which he co-wrote with Charles Randolph and was based on Michael Lewis’ book of the same name, winning him his first Oscar. He also received a nomination for Best Director, Bale was nominated for Best Actor and the film received a nomination for Best Motion Picture.

Because of the success of The Big Short, there were high expectations for his latest feature, Vice, which stars Christian Bale as Vice President, Dick Cheney, however, since its release in America last year, it has received mixed reviews. Despite this, Bale has been praised for his portrayal of Cheney and, at the time of writing this, he has recently won the Golden Globe for Best Actor, is currently nominated at the BAFTAs and at the Academy Awards. Bale has been known to go to extraordinary lengths to portray his lengths, including weight loss and gain. In order to portray Cheney, Bale gained 40lbs and said that he achieved his hefty physique by eating a lot of pies. It is one of his most committed performances and is, undoubtedly, the strongest aspect of Vice. While it's Bale who leaves a lasting impression as Cheney, there are solid supporting roles from Amy Adams as his wife, Lynne, Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush and Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld. It's been revealed that Adams stayed in character during filming, especially keeping her character's distinct voice. She would even have political debates with McKay while maintaining the voice. Adams revealed that it was the first time she stayed in character throughout filming. While, in my opinion, I've seen Adams give better performances, including in Arrival which she was unfairly overlooked for at the Academy Awards in 2017, in her role as Lynne Cheney, she continues to establish herself as one of the most talented actors.

Vice is currently nominated for a total of eight awards at the Oscars this year, including Best Picture, Best Director for McKay, Best Leading Actor for Bale, Best Supporting Actor for Rockwell, Best Supporting Actress for Adams, Best Original Screenplay for McKay and Best Makeup & Hairstyling. Those who hated Vice will have trouble understanding why it's nominated for so many awards, however, I think it deserves to be nominated. Vice is the type of feature that gets recognised by the Academy, ones that are based on real people and events with strong performances and a film that overall leaves a lasting impression. It's a film that provokes discussion amongst its viewers about why they liked or hated it. Out of all of the nominations, I think that Bale is the most likely to win his award as he's the reason why most people are seeing Vice in the first place. However, I could be wrong as there are some strong contenders this year.

While I enjoyed McKay’s The Big Short, I can understand why Vice is receiving a lot of mixed reviews. However, while I prefer The Big Short, I liked Vice. If McKay had told Cheney’s story in a conventional and subtle way, it wouldn’t have made a lasting impression. It’s because of McKay’s unique directing style why it’s being spoken about a lot. That’s why I’m describing him as a Marmite director as he divides audiences, as there are those who like Vice and those who hated it. While I don’t think it’s amazing, I still appreciated McKay for what he had created. At the time of its production, he probably knew that Vice wasn’t going to be received well, however, he went ahead anyway and I respect him for that. Those who didn’t enjoy The Big Short won’t be impressed with Vice as it has a similar tone and it balances drama with political satire. I won' t say that I loved Vice, however, I don't think it's a bad film as it features a strong cast who all give impressive performances with Christian Bale leaving a lasting impression with his portrayal of Dick Cheney.

7/10