In the Loop (2009)

A political satire about a group of skeptical American and British operatives attempting to prevent a war between two countries.

Director:

Armando Iannucci

Writers:

Jesse Armstrong (screenplay), Simon Blackwell (screenplay)

Stars:

Tom Hollander, Peter Capaldi, James Gandolfini

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 16 wins & 41 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Capaldi	...	Malcolm Tucker
Harry Hadden-Paton	...	Civil Servant
Samantha Harrington	...	Malcolm's Secretary
Gina McKee	...	Judy Molloy
Tom Hollander	...	Simon Foster
Olivia Poulet	...	Suzy
Chris Addison	...	Toby Wright
James Smith	...	Michael Rodgers
Zach Woods	...	Chad
Mimi Kennedy	...	Karen Clark
Anna Chlumsky	...	Liza Weld
Enzo Cilenti	...	Bob Adriano
Lucinda Raikes	...	Reporter
James Doherty	...	Reporter
David Rasche	...	Linton Barwick

Storyline

The US President and UK Prime Minister fancy a war. But not everyone agrees that war is a good thing. The US General Miller doesn't think so and neither does the British Secretary of State for International Development, Simon Foster. But, after Simon accidentally backs military action on TV, he suddenly has a lot of friends in Washington, DC. If Simon can get in with the right DC people, if his entourage of one can sleep with the right intern, and if they can both stop the Prime Minister's chief spin-doctor Malcolm Tucker rigging the vote at the UN, they can halt the war. If they don't... well, they can always sack their Director of Communications Judy, who they never liked anyway and who's back home dealing with voters with blocked drains and a man who's angry about a collapsing wall.

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Plot Keywords:

politics | committee | denial | politician | anglo american relations | 

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Taglines:

Things Are About To Spin Out Of Control

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Australia] Official site [France]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 September 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

In the loop

Filming Locations:

Inglis Barracks, Mill Hill, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£612,650 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£468,954 (UK) (17 April 2009)

Gross:

$2,384,044 (USA) (16 October 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Films, UK Film Council, Aramid Entertainment Fund

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The shooting script after thirty days of filming was 237 pages long. The first cut of the film was 4.5 hours long. The final edit took four months to complete.

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Goofs

The Bose 901's being used as PA speakers at an international meeting near the beginning of the film are turned around. The two cones showing on 901 speakers are on their backs. Ordinarily the purpose of such a sound system at a meeting is to amplify what is said, and employing them backwards defeats their purpose.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Malcolm Tucker: Good morning, my little chicks and cocks.

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Crazy Credits

The film's final credits roll over a long shot of the main office. At the very end, Malcolm Tucker comes out, looks at the TV and asks, "Who let this woman out with her fucking hair like this?! On national television?! Looks like she stuck her finger in a fucking electrical socket..." before walking away.

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Connections

References The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

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Soundtracks

Allegro from Violin Concerto in E Major BWV 1042
Written by Johann Sebastian Bach

User Reviews

It's a long time since I've seen a money this funny...

This is not a movie for those looking for the cosy delusional homilies and self congratulatory tributes to politicians of something like Yes Minister, it's vulgar, raw, enticing. An excellent comedy that never lets a moment pass without something to amuse, whilst being painfully poignant at the same time. In the build up to war, the UK government conspires to provide made up intelligence to the US to justify an act of war... sound familiar? Really, really, really funny and those who claim Yes Minister and it's ilk are superior, or more representative of what goes on in the 'corridors of power', aren't living in the real world. Critics who compare this to 'The Thick of It': remember, if this movie includes the same characters it's obviously set before the events of 'in the loop', hence we might expect them to be more energetic, rawer and ... well swear a lot. I'm not sure the pacing of TToI would have worked in movie form and it's nice to see that the writers were able to translate the basic idea to a successful movie, unlike so many TV adaptations which have fallen flat on their faces.