Spring Break
Lions for Lambs, like the war, goes nowhere
Issue date: 11/8/07
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Robert Redford's new film, Lions for Lambs - much like the war that is the focal point of the movie - is more about ideologies than the people involved. It's a film that attempts to promote discussion of the human cost of the War on Terror from all different facets of life. It also does a fair amount of finger pointing on the subject of who is responsible for this mess we find ourselves in. From the opening scene, where a teenager stares blankly at a TV screen that is airing a report on the death tolls in Iraq, we know we are in for a heated discussion on the modern state of affairs. The only problem is that it is much like most discussions on politics: a whole lot of talk.
The movie focuses on an hour in the lives of six different characters, intending to present the multifaceted views of this war through their heated discussions on the Iraq War. The first, and by far the most interesting discussion, is between fictional Senator Jasper Irving (played by Tom Cruise) and reporter Jeanine Roth (Meryl Streep) who has been called in to give an update on the progress of the war. The new battle plan that Cruise presents involves Arian (Derek Luke) and Ernest (Michael Pena), two scholarship students from California who are inspired by their professor's pointed lectures to enlist in the army. The wise old professor (director Robert Redford) attempts to atone for this by prodding one of his rich white students into a more productive reaction to the political climate.
All of the characters are flat and ridiculous, and Redford's examination of them hardly goes beyond the stereotypes they embody. Arian and Ernest are student athletes who aren't afraid to start swearing during a class presentation. It's just the way they talk. Redford's student (Andrew Garfield) is a frat boy at a nameless California university who complains his parents resent his enjoyment of the life they gave him. Cruise's senator is a fast talking neo-conservative who spouts twisted government speak when selling the party line to Streep. Redford even throws in doctored pictures of Cruise with the president to prove his credibility.
The movie focuses on an hour in the lives of six different characters, intending to present the multifaceted views of this war through their heated discussions on the Iraq War. The first, and by far the most interesting discussion, is between fictional Senator Jasper Irving (played by Tom Cruise) and reporter Jeanine Roth (Meryl Streep) who has been called in to give an update on the progress of the war. The new battle plan that Cruise presents involves Arian (Derek Luke) and Ernest (Michael Pena), two scholarship students from California who are inspired by their professor's pointed lectures to enlist in the army. The wise old professor (director Robert Redford) attempts to atone for this by prodding one of his rich white students into a more productive reaction to the political climate.
All of the characters are flat and ridiculous, and Redford's examination of them hardly goes beyond the stereotypes they embody. Arian and Ernest are student athletes who aren't afraid to start swearing during a class presentation. It's just the way they talk. Redford's student (Andrew Garfield) is a frat boy at a nameless California university who complains his parents resent his enjoyment of the life they gave him. Cruise's senator is a fast talking neo-conservative who spouts twisted government speak when selling the party line to Streep. Redford even throws in doctored pictures of Cruise with the president to prove his credibility.
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