Musings

Vice: a biopic about the intricate mind of Dick Cheney

The same director who replicated the phenomenal comedy about the real estate crisis that hit American economics in last decade, The Big Short in 2015, reappears three years later to introduce us VICE, a fictional biography of Dick Cheney. The movie about the vice president of America, between 2001 until 2009, was staged with actual data collected for such production.

The director, Adam McKay, is also in this movie the author of an argument that exposes in a dynamic and rhythmic way the life of one of most power decision’s man in the world.  In a perspective comical and critical way, it is told by a third person narrator who later in the film becomes adjacent to the narrative, eventually having an impact on the life of the main character, who is acted upon by a brilliant physical interpretation of the actor Christian Bale.

Released in December 2018, Vice reache a score of 7.2 in IMDB and 66 % in Rotten Tomatoes. Nonetheless, the movie was critically acclaimed receiving eight nominations for the Academy Awards, even though only actually winning one: for best makeup and hairstyling. So, we can still see a gradual increase in the popularity of the film among viewers that already made more than 60 billion dollars in box office.

In this film, we can see the private and the political life of one of the most controversial and influential political figures of United States, who served under the government of President George W. Bush (portrayed by Sam Rockwell). Bush built his candidacy in the idea of not changing horses in midstream and thus he trusted Cheney, his right arm, completely during his years at the White House. No wonder why, since Vice portrays Cheney as a very cautious person during his active years in politic.

Every behaviour of Dick Cheney is analysed mimetically since it was him that was responsible for debatable decisions in the American politics, that consequently affected the whole world. Like per example when he changed and ignored the global warming putting the terms into something softer, such as climate change, as well as the reforms that greatly favoured tax rates on those who had a fortune.

In terms of cinematographic production, it is important to emphasize the insight and the narrative techniques that are used in the film in order to captivate the maximum attention of the viewer. McKay does not allow the film to have to many silent breaks, cutting the image for several planes, such as character analogies of the characters or even recordings in Cambodia and Iraq.

The games of power are exposed in a form of acid sarcasm, which is why we have Steve Carrel in the cast making a caricature of Donald Rumsfeld but additionally we have as producers of the film the contribution of Brad Pitt and Will Ferrell. Also add to it a dramatic and tension point of view that we have in the scenes that focus on big decisions. Even so, the Dick Cheney character is always interpreted as a cold and political man, which privileges the silence after all.

In a very clear way, it is possible to perceive and make judgments of the ethics that led to Cheney, vice president of the White House, to carry out any and all types of action without have any type of sanction by a constitutional state of rights and duties, like the Unites States of America should be.

In part due to the interpretations that such figures have made of what is called The Unitary Executive Theory, which allowed Cheney to impose himself above the law to counteract the big tragedy of 9/11 in any and all areas of interest to him. Not only geo-politics fields but also social control, to manipulate the invasion in Iraq, torture everyone in anyway and stop the production and new discoveries of electric energy in favour of non-renewable energies such as petroleum, where he was previously CEO of a large company.

These are some of the points raised on this fantastic movie that expresses very well the conflicts of the power in the government of George W. Bush and how they conduct all of them intentions beyond the laws. The movie is advisable to watch for everyone interested in history, politics or for curious people in general.

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