As someone engaged with politics and tries to follow it where possible, I was intrigued when I saw the trailer for Adam McKay’s political satire; Vice. It is the recent biopic film focusing on former US Vice President Dick Cheney. Personally, I had never heard of him until I heard about this movie but with its release in the UK last month, I certainly felt compelled to see it. This one I thought would be the opportune moment for me experiment with pushing into the realm of film reviews on The Mind of Rowan.
The film is described as a ‘biographical comedy-drama’ and before viewing had me perplexed as to how it could be a comedy? That is answered in the opening frames where Mckay speaking to his audience stresses ‘this is a true story’ or as close as possible given Cheney’s secretive manner before exclaiming, ‘we tried!’. That certainly gets you into the mood and then there is the casting of Steve Carrell as Cheney’s mentor Donald Rumsfeld adds to the comedy feel. Even Cheney’s heart attacks are depicted with humour with one of them bringing him to shout, ‘I’m having a heart attack you idiot’ when he’s asked if he is ok after collapsing.