December 17, 2009 -- “In the Loop” is a wickedly clever comedy about how politicians conspired to start the Iraq War. This is no documentary. Iraq, Sadam Hussein and weapons of mass destruction etc. are never mentioned, but there are details in it that are awfully close to the truth of how the “evidence” was manipulated to support the decision to go to war.

At the heart of the story is a dim-witted low-level British government official, Simon Foster (played by Tom Hollander of “Pride and Prejudice”) who, when asked by a reporter if England is going to war in the Middle East, says war appears “unforseeable.” This sets off a tizzy in the government. Decisions about war and peace are far above Foster's pay grade. This prompts a visit by Foster's foul-mouthed superior, Malcolm Tucker (played by Peter Capaldi). Tucker (whose name contains three letters of the four-letter word that he utters most) launches into Foster and his entire staff with an obscenity-laced tirade of the sort that he reserves for just about anybody he talks to who doesn't outrank him.

Although he is ordered not to say anything else about Middle East politics, Foster can't resist his newfound popularity with the media and issues more vague statements, some of which are taken out of context, which seem to support Britain going to war. Foster finds himself in the middle of a media and governmental firestorm, along with his clueless assistant, Toby Wright (Chris Addison) and Foster's more experienced, and much smarter assistant, Judy Molloy (Gina McKee of “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood”). Wright also plays both sides of the fence in this political battle.

The three find themselves invited to high governmental meetings between the United States and England where their superiors manipulate them to support government policy. They make trips to Washington, D.C. and to the United Nations in New York City. Molloy gets left behind on the trip to Washington because Foster is intimidated by her. However, Wright's inexperience and bad judgement makes for a funny, but ineffective trip. Foster, Wright, Lt. Gen. George Miller (James Gandolfini of “The Sopranos” TV series) and US Assistant Secretary of State Karen Clarke (Mimi Kennedy of “Erin Brockovich”) all try to stop England and the U.S. from going to war, but they are up against a couple of wiley political veterans in Tucker and his American counterpart, US Assistant Secretary of State, Linton Barwick (David Rasche of “Burn After Reading”).

The dialog in the film is witty, funny and razor-sharp, remiscent of similar dialog and situations in the popular British TV series “Yes, Prime Minister.” The brand of comedy ranges from farce to very dark satire. It goes over the top at times, such as a pointless scene which a high level discussion is interrupted when Karen Clarke starts inexplicably bleeding from the mouth. Maybe it was put in because it really happened, but I didn't need to see it and it wasn't funny, no matter how much paper she puts in her mouth and how that makes her sound when she talks.

Near the end of the film, the story starts to wander in the direction of melodrama and it starts to lose its sharp comic edge. Most viewers will not get some of the film's references to real events, like the reference to an unreliable informant known as “Iceman” (for his alcohol and drug habits). In the movie, Iceman is the basis for much of the bogus intelligence supporting the war proposal. In real life a similar unreliable informant known as “Curveball” (Rafid Ahmed Alwan) fabricated prewar claims about mobile bioweapons facilities and other stories. His baseless accounts were key elements in the case for the U.S. and England going to war with Iraq. Notably, Curveball was an informant controlled by Germany, and Germany did not choose to go to war with Iraq. As wacky as this film seems, it is a lot closer to the truth than you would probably believe. This film rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2009 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at .