In the Loop (2009) is a smart, timely and timeless comedy about the frightening vapidity of modern politics

I was surprised not to find a discussion about this film here.

Being an enormous Armando Iannucci fan going back to his early television work and, having not seen In the Loop since it first came out over fifteen years ago, I decided to revisit this blisteringly intelligent comedy about, ostensibly, the lead up to the Iraq war (though the country is never mentioned once during the run-time, contributing to the film's timelessness).

This is a story about a great many things. The art of media manipulation, geopolitics, inter- and intra-party politics and Machiavellian maneuvers in service of power and domination. On top of that, it is so, so funny.

Every character here is brilliantly individuated and no one is let off the hook.

From the lowly staffers buffeted by the ever-changing whims of their hapless and domineering superiors, failing upwards or falling into unseen bottomless pits, to the half-witted politicians caught off guard by inexplicable shifts in the party line, no one escapes this film's razor lash.

Even the well-meaning, anti-war liberal, forcing her subordinate to examine her bleeding teeth, doesn't escape unscathed. And was poet-warrior-General James Gandolfini's final about-turn at the conclusion of the film a principled stand on behalf of the young men he was about to send to their deaths or a cynical philosophical shift to remain in the corridors of power when it became clear that the pro-war forces would come out victorious?

The relationships and shifting alliances are confused (deliberately so) but never confusing. Once you are up to speed with who is who, the churning factions, alliances, enemies and gambits turn this into more than a comedy and elevate the material into a richly smart social satire that deserves to be considered among the great political films of the last century along with Dr Strangelove. It really is that good.

Given the current political moment, the film offers a timely insight into a vanishing form and practice of politics (and "good riddance" some might say) and the collapse of the Harvard-Yale consensus about how empire should be maintained, managed and expanded. I can only imagine the farcical comedies playing out behind the scenes right now as staffers and politicians flail about in the shifting geopolitical winds.

I want to end by shouting out three under-sung performances in particular:

1) Zach Woods, whose genius was confirmed in Veep, is at his absolute peak here. Smarmy Ivy leagueness drips off every syllable tumbling from his wet, grinning mouth. It's hard to play an utterly irredeemable sleazeball but when Karen Clark tells him he will one day end up as Secretary of State, I don't doubt it for a second.

2) Mimi Kennedy as Karen Clark, who plays the aforementioned anti-war liberal, rides the line to perfection. She is both principled but also insipidly narcissistic. When people cross her, she knows how to wield power to bring them into line.

3) David Rasche as Linton Barwick is just sublime as a truly Machiavellian and deeply boring force of history and nature. He is the quintessential political animal. Nothing about him is real, the truth is only what he says it is and everything he does is in service of maintaining and expanding his power and influence.

Would encourage others to revisit this film if you haven't done so recently and would love to hear people's thoughts. Thanks for reading.