Vice (* * *1/2)

The best compliment that can be paid to Vice is that while it should be incredibly jarring and depressing, there are moments that will have you beaming with absolute glee while self reflecting about what our role was as a society that allowed one man to gain authoritarian control of our nation. Vice is not just the story detailing the rise of our 46th Vice President, Dick Cheney, it’s also a stark condemnation about the system in place that would allow such depravity to take place.

Cheney is played by Christian Bale (The Big Short, The Dark Knight Trilogy). Bale plays the Vice President with a carefree malevolence that is all too alluring. Cheney may not be the smartest man in the room, but he surely is the most analytical. Carefully assessing any and all situations as he forms and executes a plan. Watching Cheney move through the elite Washington D.C. circles guided by mentor Donald Rumsfeld (Steve Carell) is to watch a man who has been afforded the privilege of failing upwards in life.

The yin to Dick Cheney’s yang is wife Lynne Cheney played by Amy Adams (Arrival, American Hustle). Early on, after a night of drinking and debauchery by a young Dick Cheney, Lynne reminds her husband of the type of men she could’ve been with; but she chose him. Adams is the backbone in this relationship. She is strong, focused and she’s also a welcomed distraction for some of Dick’s shortcomings when it comes to campaigning. He doesn’t ascend to where he is in life without Lynne. If that’s good or a bad thing is up for the audience to decide.

Writer and director Adam McKay (The Big Short, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy) doesn’t hide his disdain for the former V.P. His choice to inject humor at the precise moments just as the story gets heavy and downtrodden is the right move. McKay shines a satirical look at a serious subject and a serious man and it works. There are peeks behind the political curtain and they are compelling to say the least. Take for instance one of the most catastrophic days in American history, 9/11. This film confirms an urban legend that Cheney himself was the strategic mastermind in coordinating the early response to the attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon. Cheney makes it very clear where the chain of command lies in a makeshift war room and it’s not with the President (Sam Rockwell).

While some viewers will reach the conclusion that this is nothing more than Hollywood liberal elite propaganda, there will be those who make the correct decision to use this as a springboard to do their own research.

Vice is without a doubt one of the best pictures of the year. Driven by fantastic Oscar worthy performances from Bale and Adams and lead by interesting choices from behind the camera by McKay; it’s sure to spark all kinds of debate in the near future. What shouldn’t be up for debate is the necessity for a movie like this in times such as these. There were smart people in power who managed to find legal loopholes that afforded them more power. They set a precedent that future, and present, administrations can and will draw power from.