Sandra Bullock is queen. After stellar performances in films like Gravity (2013), The Blind Side (2009), and The Proposal (2009), her new film, Our Brand is Crisis shows Bullock deliver another great performance. Directed by David Gordon Green, the film is based off of the 2006 documentary, also of the same name.
Our Brand is Crisis follows political strategist Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) as she travels to Bolivia to turn around Castillo’s (Joaquim de Almeida) struggling presidential campaign. In the midst of presenting an otherwise, cold and distant Castillo as likeable and relatable, Jane competes with her arch-nemesis Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thorton), the political adviser for the opposing candidate Rivera (Loius Arcella).
While the film has a great cast (Sandra Bullock, Billy Bob Thorton, Anthony Mackie), the movie falls short in providing a memorable story. It’s quite frankly a long 107 minutes. The film is rated R and is listed as a comedy and drama, yet fails to provide consistently and has sporadic comedic moments. At the end of the film when Castillo becomes President and ends up doing exactly what he promised he wouldn’t do when he was campaigning, Jane realizes a little too late that while she won the battle against Pat, she ended up causing unrest and turmoil in Bolivia. After a confrontation with Pepe, a central character who is developed quite strongly through the film, she realizes that not only was she duped, but she also ended up unintentionally duping Pepe and his brothers. Octavio Gómez Berríos, who plays Pepe, delivers a great performance. Pepe is an innocent figure in the film, a campaign volunteer who truly believes Castillo can make Bolivia great again, even after a botched first presidency. He’s easy to relate to, with the audience recalling moments of their own betrayals.
Bottom Line: Sandra Bullock’s performance gives the film life. Our Brand is Crisis comes out October 30th.