Lions for Lambs (2007)

Injuries sustained by two Army rangers behind enemy lines in Afghanistan set off a sequence of events involving a congressman, a journalist and a professor.

Director:

Robert Redford

Writer:

Matthew Michael Carnahan

Stars:

Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Robert Redford

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Redford	...	Professor Stephen Malley
Meryl Streep	...	Janine Roth
Tom Cruise	...	Senator Jasper Irving
Michael Peña	...	Ernest Rodriguez
Andrew Garfield	...	Todd Hayes
Peter Berg	...	Lt. Col. Falco
Kevin Dunn	...	ANX Editor
Derek Luke	...	Arian Finch
Larry Bates	...	Soldier
Christopher May	...	Soldier
David Pease	...	Soldier
Heidi Janson	...	Soldier
Christopher Carley	...	Sniper
George Back	...	Student
Kristy Wu	...	Student

Storyline

Three stories told simultaneous in ninety minutes of real time: a Republican Senator who's a presidential hopeful gives an hour-long interview to a skeptical television reporter, detailing a strategy for victory in Afghanistan; two special forces ambushed on an Afghani ridge await rescue as Taliban forces close in; a poli-sci professor at a California college invites a promising student to re-engage. Decisions press upon the reporter, the student, and the soldiers.

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Plot Keywords:

student | afghanistan | professor | reporter | university | 

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Taglines:

If you don't STAND for something, you might FALL for anything

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some war violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

20th Century Fox [France] United Artists [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 November 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Von Löwen und Lämmern

Filming Locations:

The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$6,702,434 (USA) (2 November 2007)

Gross:

$14,998,070 (USA) (1 February 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), United Artists, Wildwood Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The screenplay for this film was featured in the 2006 Blacklist; a list of the "most liked" unmade scripts of the year.

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Goofs

When Janine is riding past the White House in the taxi near the end of the movie, her view of the White House, as represented during her passing, cannot be obtained from a taxi since those streets are closed to vehicular traffic. Also, her view of the rows of graves in Arlington Cemetery during the same sequence cannot be obtained from a taxi since the paved paths in Arlington are closed to ordinary vehicular traffic as a taxi would be.

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Quotes

Janine Roth: We took Iraq? How did I miss that?

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Connections

References Taps (1981)

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Soundtracks

Lean wit It
Written and Performed by Herman Beeftink
Courtesy of Elite Source Music Productions

User Reviews

A movie that really makes us think

As you see, I'm not an American, though I liked this movie very much. I don't think it's against Bush or against the war in Iraq in particular. It's against unfairness, lies and indifference, so the message is really complex. I don't even see it as an average political drama -- it does touch the problems of politics, but the range of problems is much wider. I believe that the movie wouldn't be a good one without good actors. I'm not a fan of Tom Cruise, although he did his job quite well

• the problem is that marvelous Meryl Streep outshone him. I found the

performance of Robert Redford quite good, although I still think that he's a better director than an actor. As you see, this movie does have some weak sides, but the message it carries makes an outstanding piece.