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In the Loop

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In the Loop
Official UK poster, showing some of the main cast (left to right: James Gandolfini, Anna Chlumsky, Tom Hollander, Peter Capaldi and Steve Coogan).
Theatrical release poster
Directed byArmando Iannucci
Written byJesse Armstrong
Simon Blackwell
Armando Iannucci
Tony Roche
Ian Martin (additional material)
Produced byAdam Tandy
Kevin Loader
StarringPeter Capaldi
James Gandolfini
Mimi Kennedy
Chris Addison
Tom Hollander
Gina McKee
Steve Coogan
David Rasche
CinematographyJamie Cairney
Edited byAnt Boys
Billy Sneddon
Production
companies
Distributed byOptimum Releasing
Protagonist Pictures
IFC Films
Release dates
  • 22 January 2009 (2009-01-22) (Sundance)
  • 17 April 2009 (2009-04-17) (United Kingdom)
Running time
109 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£612,650 (UK Film Council contribution)[1]
$979,750
Box office£4,870,963
$7,787,487 [2]

In the Loop is a 2009 British satirical black comedy film directed by Armando Iannucci. It satirises Anglo-American politics in the 21st century and the Invasion of Iraq. The film was nominated for the 2010 Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay).

In the film, the UK and the U.S. are both on the verge of possibly launching a war in the Middle East. The plot follows government officials and advisors in their behind-the-scenes efforts either to promote the war or prevent it.[3] The film stars Tom Hollander, Mimi Kennedy, James Gandolfini, Chris Addison, Peter Capaldi, Anna Chlumsky, Gina McKee, Steve Coogan and David Rasche.

Plot

During a radio interview on BBC Radio 4's PM programme, Minister for International Development Simon Foster (Tom Hollander) accidentally states that a war in the Middle East is "unforeseeable". He is told off for not remaining neutral by the Prime Minister's enforcer Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi). But when later caught by news cameras Foster makes a further mistake by saying there may be a need to "climb the mountain of conflict". The two contradictory statements coincide with a visit by senior U.S. State Department officials, who jump on Foster's two quotations and begin to use him, and his hapless new aide Toby (Chris Addison), as pawns in an international political game.[3]

The film's plot is a satirical version of events surrounding the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, with the Tucker character presumed to have been based on Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's Director of Communications and Strategy at the time.[4]

Cast

In the Loop is a spin-off from the highly successful, award-winning BBC Television series The Thick of It. Several actors from The Thick of It appear in the film, including Peter Capaldi, Chris Addison, Paul Higgins, James Smith, Alex MacQueen, Olivia Poulet, and Joanna Scanlan, and also, in very small roles, Samantha Harrington, Eve Matheson, and Will Smith.[5][6] The only characters from the show, however, are Malcolm Tucker (Capaldi) and Jamie MacDonald (Higgins), with a brief appearance by Tucker's secretary Sam Cassidy (Harrington).[7] The other Thick of It actors who appear play new characters, albeit very similar to the ones they portrayed in the series.

The new actors in the mix include Tom Hollander (who appeared on one episode of The Thick of It), Gina McKee, and a roster of seven American actors including James Gandolfini, Mimi Kennedy, and David Rasche. Previous Iannucci collaborator Steve Coogan (I'm Alan Partridge) also appears.

Writing

The writing of In The Loop followed the methods developed during The Thick of It television series. Co-writer Jesse Armstrong explained:[8]

It's exactly the same format as used in The Thick of It. Armando holds it together in the middle. Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche and I meet him then come up with the story line. Us three go away and do the storyline then send it to Armando to be okayed and do the initial drafts. Then Ian Martin does additional material and rewrites as well. So it's a five-man team but all broken down into different compartments. It never feels unwieldy. Once we had the storyline mapped out with Armando, each of us took an act each, if you think of it as a three-act movie. I had the first crack at the first act, Simon at the second and Tony at the third. We looked at them all, Armando gave us notes and we did another rewrite and passed them around. It's not like one person does the plot, one does the jokes and one does the politics, but we all have our different strengths.

Noting that The Thick of It had been inspired by the Blair government's attacks on the BBC in the wake of the Iraq war, the magazine Cinema Scope described In The Loop as "The Thick of It's "origin story," a retelling of the chain of events that inspired Iannucci to devise the series."[9]

Iannucci has stated: "We don't go up to White House level, we deal mainly with state department underlings, the kind of people that actually make decisions with enormous political consequences."[10]

Filming and release

In the Loop was a collaboration between BBC Films and the UK Film Council.[11] Filming took place between May 2008 and December 2008.

The film was shot on location in London and Washington, D.C. During a set visit, Time Out London noted the style of filming is highly similar to The Thick of It:

The similarities are everywhere, down to the docu-style, handheld camerawork evident on the monitors (it's the same director of photography) and the anti-West Wing production design that eliminates all notions of political glamour.

Iannucci himself mentioned progress on the film in several columns for The Observer newspaper.[12]

In the film I was finishing, we featured a motorcade. We had some police standing by to add authenticity. We started rolling, but could never get up a decent speed because of the traffic lights at each block. Then one of the police leant into the car and said: "D'you want me to turn my siren on? That'll let us through all the red lights." It worked and it was also quite exciting.

One scene was filmed at the DC nightclub Black Cat; the band performing is Cannabis Corpse.[13] The American political journalist and blogger Spencer Ackerman was one of the film's consultants.[14]

The world premiere was held at the Sundance Film Festival on 22 January 2009.[15][16] The European gala premiere screening was held in the independent Glasgow Film Theatre as the opening of the 2009 Glasgow Film Festival on 12 February 2009, attended by Iannucci and members of the cast.[17] The film was released on 17 April 2009 in the United Kingdom.[18] The film was picked up by IFC Films for distribution in the US, and began screening on 24 July 2009.[19]

Reception

Critical reception to the film's premiere at the Sundance Film Festival was positive.[4] Damon Wise, writing in The Times was particularly complimentary, giving the film five stars, stating "It's hard to settle on a standout element because it's all so outstanding, from the performances to the one-liners to the plot."[20] Screen International's David D'Arcy was complimentary, but noted that the release of the film may be poorly timed, given the new presidency of Barack Obama, stating "its exuberant, boundless cynicism will test the demand for political satire in an Obama-infatuated America."[21] Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune put the film as #9 on his top ten list of 2009.

The film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 94% of the reviews they tallied for the film were positive, based on 162 reviews.[22]

In The Loop was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2010.[23]

References

  1. ^ UK Film Council awards database, . Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  2. ^ Box Office Mojo Retrieved 2011-01-10.
  3. ^ a b Wolf, Ian. "In the Loop". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
  4. ^ a b Xan Brooks, Iannucci's Iraq war satire lauded at Sundance in The Guardian, 21 January 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  5. ^ Jeremy Kay (2009-01-23). "Sundance 2009: In the Loop puts rest of the fest in the shade". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  6. ^ Dave Calhoun. "Set visit: 'In The Loop' with Armando Iannucci". Time Out. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  7. ^ Pul Higgins interview: Guilt-edged success by Jay Richardson, 08 November 2008. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  8. ^ "Writing In the Loop" ClashMusic.com 27 October 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  9. ^ Cinema Scope » Features | The Road to In the Loop: British Satire-Sitcom-Cinema. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  10. ^ Vanessa Thorpe, Star of British TV satire set to conquer America", The Observer, Sunday 11 January 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  11. ^ Peter Capaldi gets into The Thick Of it for Armando Iannucci movie in The Times, May 06, 2008. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  12. ^ Armando Iannucci, Step right up to Politicsville, USA, The Observer, Sunday 15 June 2008. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  13. ^ Interview with Cannabis Corpse Metal Underground 27 October 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  14. ^ How to succeed in Hollywood without really trying by Spencer Ackerman guardian.co.uk, 23 July 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  15. ^ Armando's Loop gets Sundance premiere, on Chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  16. ^ In the Loop at the Sundance Film Festival website, 16 January 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  17. ^ http://www.glasgowfilmfestival.org.uk/programme/show/250 [dead link]
  18. ^ In The Loop Blog:Home, . Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  19. ^ In the Loop at the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  20. ^ Damon Wise, In the Loop at the Sundance Film Festival, Utah, The Times, 21 January 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  21. ^ David D'Arcy, In The Loop, screendaily.com, 20 January 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  22. ^ In the Loop, Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
  23. ^ 82nd Academy Award Nominations, Official website. Retrieved 2010-02-26.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to In The Loop.
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