Sandra Bullock reinvents herself in gritty political drama

BULLOCK. Strong screen presence and charisma.

IF YOU don’t like the road you’re on, start paving another one. As political strategist “Calamity” Jane Bodine, Sandra Bullock learns this lesson belatedly in her latest film, David Gordon Green’s “Our Brand Is Crisis”—a fictionalized account of the involvement of an American political-campaign strategist in the 2002 Bolivian presidential election.

Known for her brilliance as much as her belligerence, Jane is flown to Bolivia to help “rebrand” unpopular presidential aspirant Pedro Castillo (Joachim de Almeida).

The task is an uphill battle because Castillo is perceived to be a stuck-up oligarch and a political opportunist, with a “Bush smile” that looks like a smirk. No wonder Castillo is only fifth among eight candidates, in terms of popularity.

Does Jane have what it takes to run a campaign after a six-year hiatus, following bouts with depression and addiction?

She finds her raison d’être when she learns that the campaign of Castillo’s opponent is run by her nemesis, Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton, in top antagonist form)—who’s bent on bringing about a relapse of her public meltdown many years ago!

Compelling conflict

The film is viewable not only because of the compelling conflict between Bullock and Thornton’s characters. Its scenes bristle with political pertinence and resonance that are similar to the dirty campaign tactics and “mudslinging” that we see in the Philippines during campaign season—allegations of corruption and padded budgets, marital infidelity, personal vendetta, even murder!

Bullock reinvents herself by veering farther away from the likable America’s Sweetheart persona that catapulted her to superstardom in “While You Were Sleeping” and “The Proposal.” Her character may be troubled and far from likable, but her strong screen presence and charisma work in her favor, because you root for her as she slowly finds her way out of the moral quagmire she finds herself in.

If you’re interested in running for public office, this is the movie to see, because it dispenses instructive lessons about image-tweaking, and how the campaigns of some prominent American politicians were ran—that led to their victory or defeat!

In the flawed world of political wheeling and dealing, the only thing that matters is perception. In close contests, it isn’t just about winning, but destroying the enemy, as well—because, for Jane and company, the ends always justify the means.

—Is Jane as evil as the political kingpins she and Pat serve? And is politics always synonymous with corruption? She muses, “If you fight with monsters too long, you also become a monster.”

That may sound like a stultifyingly myopic view of what public service is all about—but, in developing countries where leadership is less than ideal, the concept of serving the poor and the disenfranchised is honored more in the breach than in the observance!