Lions for Lambs

I saw Lions for Lambs this afternoon. I was going to skip it, because Robert Redford bothers me for some reason. Actually, I know the reason, it's because I read Down and Dirty Pictures a book that doesn't paint him in a favorable light when it comes to the indie and film festival circuit. That's probably not fair, but whatever, he's kind of preachy.

Objections aside, I went to see it anyway. The performances weren't all that great really, although Tom Cruise as a full-of-shit Congress Critter is different enough for him to be interesting. Meryl Streep being vulnerable and confused as a veteran journalist is good too since I can't get Devil Wears Prada out of my head. Robert Redford, as the wise old professor who seeks to inspire, isn't all that inspiring.

There are three concurrent stories going on. One is the senator and reporter spinning their shit about the war. The professor and one of his apathetic kid do their thing on the other coast. Two former students of the prof go into a risky special ops mission in Afghanistan. All three stories happen simultaneously, and in the course of an hour, and all three are related to each other.

Ultimately, I think the movie tries to get at the point that we've all become so apathetic to the war, and meaningful change in policy, that we all share some of the burden for being there. The prof struggles with making a difference (the right difference, for him) in his kids. The student avoids the conflict entirely because he just wants to have a good life. The soldiers think they can create meaningful change from within the military. The senator disregards history and reasons behind our conflict. The journalist acts as a puppet to the government. The movie suggests that there's a big vicious circle that perpetuates the shit, and I tend to agree.

What struck me was a part near the end, where Streep's character is driving through Washington. She passes countless memorials and cemeteries, and I can only wonder. Why is this country rooted in so many wars and violence, throughout its short history? That brings me back to the original question, how did we get here?

While not Oscar worthy in any way, the movie does make you think a little. You have to ask what you can do with your talents to make things right, and it's a "scary question" as the movie puts it. It's a hard question to answer.