Ads, smears and politics

"Change the narrative to fit the man."

There's no way of avoiding the fact that this year's upcoming U.S. election is one of the most controversial since Bush's 2004 re-election but the game remains the same: whatever the issues or agendas, the candidates will always try to convince us that they have the answers to our problems as well as the resolve to bring necessary change regardless of what your opinion may be on them. Our Brand is Crisis sticks us into the backdrop of the political campaigns of the 2002 Bolivian presidential election, where we find Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) sent by an American political consulting firm to spearhead a smear campaign for Pedro Castillo (Joaquim de Almeida) against his opponent. His opponent however, has also hired an American political

consultant named Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton), who has a history of rivalry between him and Jane. The two butt heads every time and their rivalry only escalates higher as the elections draw closer, which is where we witness first hand the dirty politics and mudslinging that goes on behind the scenes in the ad campaigns. Even though this event really did happen, some details of what really went on were fictionalized for the sake of the film so it's hard to know what parts of Our Brand is Crisis is actually accurate; it's all confusing especially when you find out that Bullock's lead character was actually based on a man (the genders were swapped for the film for unknown reasons). Despite this, Bullock does a good job with her role....which is unfortunately the only positive highlight about this film. No pun intended but the real crisis of this film is its' identity. Is it a political satire or is it a real-life based drama? Is the narrative seen exclusively from Bullock's character's perspective or from several? Is it critiquing the lack of ethics in smear campaigns or humoring the fact that all politicians and candidates are crooked? Much like a real candidate's ad campaign, it's inconsistent and goes over our heads. I don't expect films that are based on true events to be 100% accurate (there's just no way to be honest) and there will always be sections where the truth is stretched a little, but this film fictionalizes too much of its' core story; had I not known it was based on a documentary film of the same name made in 2005 I wouldn't have figured it was based on real-life events. But as they say, "that's politics" and unfortunately Our Brand is Crisis doesn't offer any clarity and is about as confusing as the last GOP debate. 

​-Reviewed by Razor, 2/26/16