The Background

President Nixon is up for re-election and things seem to be going his way but after a number of people in government leak sensitive documents, it is decided by his administration to crack down on this sort of thing and discredit these individuals. Enter Gordon Liddy and Howard Hunt, both staunch Republicans, Liddy a former FBI agent, Hunt a former CIA employee who will run a campaign of “dirty tricks” to help ensure Nixon is re-elected. Things do not go well.

The Characters

E. Howard Hunt – (Woody Harrelson) is a former CIA agent who was heavily involved in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, costing him his job and reputation, and he is desperate to get back into that world. For a spook Hunt talks an awful lot about what he does, constantly name-dropping or leaving not-very-cryptic hints at what he has done. Hunt is a firm believer that the Democrats = Communists = Evil and so these “illegal” plots are entirely justified. A family man Hunt has four children and is married to Dorothy (Lena Heady), another former CIA agent who is a lot more discreet.

G. Gordon Liddy – for some reason a number of people involved in this have first names they do not use – (Justin Theroux) where do you start with Liddy? This is a man who will spontaneously hold his hand over a flame to prove his loyalty, who draws a gun on Hunt’s young son when he surprises him and proclaims that Nixon need only tell him to stand on a particular street corner and he will happily take a bullet. He seems delusional to the point of ridiculousness, convinced he is some sort of super-spy doing great work. Then there is the stuff with the Nazis. Liddy has a habit of naming things after things associated with Nazi Germany, he calls his first plan Operation Odessa, after the codename for Nazis fleeing Germany at the end of the war, at a dinner party he literally puts on a record of Hitler speeches the same way other people would put on jazz. He will point out he doesn’t believe in fascism BUT does think Hitler was very charismatic.

There is an array of other characters ranging from officials in the Nixon administration, the Cuban dissidents hired by Hunt to carry out the burglaries and more but of particular note is Lena Headey playing Dorothy Hunt (wife of Howard Hunt) playing one of the very few reasonable people in the show, you will scream at your television just for everyone to listen to her.

Behind The Scenes

The show’s creators are Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck, two comedy writers who have worked on a number of successful shows, with Veep being the most relevant to this show as it has a similar tone of incompetence and madness amongst the powerful. David Mandel directs all five episodes, a director and writer of SNL, Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm and more. The show is based on the book Integrity, written by Egil and Matthew Krogh, Egil Krogh being one of the people in the Nixon administration who went to prison over Watergate.

The show points out every episode that whilst this is based on real events some details have been changed for storytelling purposes and that is worth bearing in mind. As it is based on real events the audience does know where this is heading – failure, scandal and ruin. For all the talk of Hunt and Liddy about saving President Nixon it is repeatedly pointed out he is doing well in the polls and does indeed win re-election, but it is this scandal that brings him down. The central characters go beyond failure in their mission but bring everything down. The five episodes follow this unmitigated tale of failure through Hunt and Liddy.

The stand out in the whole show is Theroux as Liddy. Hunt is sometimes unprofessional and incompetent, Liddy is an Alexander the Great of failure, a Napoleon of delusions, a generation-defining personification of disaster. Liddy is incompetent, delusional, paranoid, obsessive, violent, potentially a Nazi, arrogant, and authoritarian and it is hard to imagine a worse conspirator…he will keep his mouth shut through a bizarre sense of loyalty and duty but he will do worse through sheer stupidity. He constantly infuriates those around him by making a bad situation much worse. Theroux expertly displays his intensity and his frustration when colleagues, friends and family members don’t go along with his ridiculous ideas.

White House Plumbers is a great historical comedy-drama which shows the great events of history are often as ridiculous as they are important.

Rating: (4 / 5)

Also Read: Political Thrillers: Between Fact, Fiction, and Hidden Agendas

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The post Nixon, Madness & Comedy: ‘White House Plumbers’ Takes You On A Historical Farce Like No Other appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

The battle of Midway is near

This film is retelling the events from the first months of the War in the Pacific beginning with Pearl Harbor in 1937 to the Battle of Midway in 1942. After their defeat during the Pearl Harbor attack, America wants to take revenge on Japan. In Midway, we see these events unravelling from both Japanese and American positions. On the Japanese side, there are Admiral Yamamoto (Etsushi Toyokawa), Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi (Tadanobu Asano) and Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo (Jun Kunimura). The American story is being told mostly by bomber pilot Lt. Dick Best (Ed Skrein) and intelligence officer Lt. Comm. Edwin Layton (Patrick Wilson).

The Pearl Harbor defeat is still lingering in the head of Chester Nimitz (Woody Harrelson) who was recently appointed as Commander-In-Chief of the Pacific Fleet. America might be able to get their retribution for that dark day sooner than they think. After intercepting a Japanese radio message, Layton is convinced that Midway is Japan’s next target. America starts gathering all the troops. From bomber pilot Lt. Richard “Dick” Best (Ed Skrein) to aviation mechanic Bruno Gaido (Nick Jonas) and from Admiral William “Bull” Halsey (Dennis Quaid) to Air Group Commander Wade McClusky (Luke Evans). They’re all gearing up to protect their country. The aircraft carriers are lined up, the destroyers are strategically placed and the bombers are ready to fire. The battle of Midway is upon us…

Both hits and misses

The story of Midway probably sounds familiar. Not only because it’s based on real-life but also because it was already told in Jack Smight’s Midway. Just like Smight, Emmerich can count on a fascinating story and an all-star cast. His Midway might not be the biggest hit he ever made but it’s still an enjoyable film.

Ok, yes the CGI effects are completely over the top and sometimes too excessive but that doesn’t mean they don’t do the trick. They give Midway that extravagant and ‘made for the big screen’ effect. The most impressive special effects scenes are during which we are in Best’s pilot seat seeing the events through his eyes.

Secondly, this movie stays incredibly true to the actual events. It showed us what sacrifices people had to make during that difficult time and while some details might have been incorrect, the majority is spot on. The great thing about Midway is that both the American and Japanese points of view are represented and not just one of them.

Strong performances but too many characters

When it comes to the characters, there are certainly resemblances between the people who had to go to the battles and the actors portraying them. Sadly, none of the actors get the chance to shine due to the incredibly fast (too fast sometimes) pace and the introduction of too many characters. Skrein (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Deadpool) is leading the cast to the apotheosis as the rebellious but also heroic Best in a charismatic and cocky way. Adding some smartness to this movie is the excellent Wilson (In the Tall Grass, Annabelle Comes Home) as the intelligence officer whose warnings were previously ignored.

They’re joined by the engaging Harrelson (Zombieland: Double Tap, Venom) and also by young and fine acting talent such as Keean Johnson (Alita: Battle Angel, Low Tide) Nick Jonas (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle), Luke Kleintank (The Goldfinch, Crown Vic) and Daren Criss (All You Ever Wished For, Girl Most Likely) who all give it their best shot. To balance out that testosterone, there’s Mandy Moore (Ralph Breaks the Internet, The Darkest Minds) as Best’s wife. Her role could have been a little bit more explored and present in the film but nevertheless, Moore delivers an emotional performance. 

Of course, there’s also the Japanese side that’s being represented by Toyokawa (Paradise Next, Samurai Marathon 1855), Asano (Thor: Ragnarok, The Outsider) and Kunimura (The Witness, The Great War of Archimedes) who create without a doubt one of the most emotional scenes of this film. Shame, it’s right at the end.

No victory but no defeat either

It might seem that a 138 minutes film about the war between America and Japan would be a dragging one and yes, sometimes that’s certainly the case. That prolonged feeling and the too many characters (with too little potential to grow) are present in Midway but the CGI effects and performances make from this film worth the watch.

Rating: (3.5 / 5)

Also Read: The Aeronauts (Review)

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