Our Brand is Crisis is a fictionalized adaptation of a documentary with the same name. It centers during a presidential election in Bolivia, an American consultant helps an unwanted President save his campaign. The film mostly treats this situation as a comedy. So their campaigning is often delivered with hi-jinks, even though it already established a serious context within the society and politics involved in this story. Although it's thoroughly entertaining, the movie disappointingly never felt rewarding. As the tone has shifted after the story gets awareness to its real conflict, the movie feels like it failed justifying what it's trying to represent for this story.
The first act is mostly establishing Jane's success in her work, despite of her behavior. Once she steps into this competition, it's basically a series of strategies that are depicted with playfulness. Maybe it's its way of saying that presidential campaigns are fun that it should be seen as a form absurdity, but there's no sense of satire in those scenes. It's just the movie willing to fool around, even for no reason sometimes. When it decides to take the issue seriously, it feels like the movie never deserves it. It's contrived for sure, but after all the shenanigans that has happen, the serious awareness from its conflict often feels out of place.
It's still quite interesting, the details around is still treated with thoughtful consideration, but it's just the attempt of humor whenever they compete against the other candidate is what robs the intrigue. The last act when they're finally learning a serious lesson didn't end up being compelling, because that doesn't seem what the movie was building up. The ambiguity didn't help either since nothing really supports the tone. Instead it's just some rushed sentimentalism that impacts so little in the end. The craft however is impressive, the whole pulpy feel and slick camera-work make it stunning to watch. The acting is definitely entertaining, with Sandra Bullock carrying the whole thing. The supporting are likable to keep things watchable.
Our Brand is Crisis gets a little intriguing and fun at the start, then it gets pretty vague by its intentions. There is little reason to get too indulgent at some absurd moments. Their politics and work could work with humor if they're just straightforward satire, but then it just settles with formula. And the ending of course is just straight up sentimentalism rather than uneasy ambiguity. The direction and production at least made it competent and again the acting is thoroughly committed which makes it kind of gripping. Then again and again, nothing rewarding this movie will bring you in the end.
The first act is mostly establishing Jane's success in her work, despite of her behavior. Once she steps into this competition, it's basically a series of strategies that are depicted with playfulness. Maybe it's its way of saying that presidential campaigns are fun that it should be seen as a form absurdity, but there's no sense of satire in those scenes. It's just the movie willing to fool around, even for no reason sometimes. When it decides to take the issue seriously, it feels like the movie never deserves it. It's contrived for sure, but after all the shenanigans that has happen, the serious awareness from its conflict often feels out of place.
It's still quite interesting, the details around is still treated with thoughtful consideration, but it's just the attempt of humor whenever they compete against the other candidate is what robs the intrigue. The last act when they're finally learning a serious lesson didn't end up being compelling, because that doesn't seem what the movie was building up. The ambiguity didn't help either since nothing really supports the tone. Instead it's just some rushed sentimentalism that impacts so little in the end. The craft however is impressive, the whole pulpy feel and slick camera-work make it stunning to watch. The acting is definitely entertaining, with Sandra Bullock carrying the whole thing. The supporting are likable to keep things watchable.
Our Brand is Crisis gets a little intriguing and fun at the start, then it gets pretty vague by its intentions. There is little reason to get too indulgent at some absurd moments. Their politics and work could work with humor if they're just straightforward satire, but then it just settles with formula. And the ending of course is just straight up sentimentalism rather than uneasy ambiguity. The direction and production at least made it competent and again the acting is thoroughly committed which makes it kind of gripping. Then again and again, nothing rewarding this movie will bring you in the end.