"Is it better to try and fail, or fail to try?" That's the challenging question put by liberal professor Stephen Malley (Robert Redford) to gifted but lazy student Todd (Andrew Garfield). It also underpins much of the debate in Lions for Lambs, Redford's talky but effective look at America and Americans' response to the war on terror.
Malley wants Todd to rise above the cynical and dismissive attitude of his generation and engage with the world. To illustrate this he tells the story of two students who took that message to heart and joined the Marines - and we watch as the two recruits get caught up in a terrible situation in the icy mountains of Afghanistan.
In a separate storyline, journalist Janine Roth (Meryl Streep) and up-and-coming GOP star Senator Jasper Irving (Tom Cruise) meet for the senator to unveil (albeit only piecemeal) his plans to escalate the Afghan campaign (and his own presidential ambitions) in an ill- thought-out military intervention. Irving plays masterfully on the media's complicity with enabling the current Iraq War and also on Roth's (and the audience's) innate fear of another 9/11.
If that all sounds a little preachy, well it is. WIth most scenes consisting of two people in a room talking to one another, and everyone from Socrates to von Clausewitz getting a name- check, many people may be turned off - and this unwillingness to engage in debate is, ironically, one of the film's major themes. But I found it refreshing to hear a lot of these views (from both sides of the political spectrum) get an airing on such a high-profile platform as a major Hollywood movie.
And the cast doesn't come much more high-profile than this. While I found Meryl Streep's earnest TV reporter a little unconvincing and Redford's professor too perfect they both turn in solid performances, with Streep especially making the dialogue seem utterly fresh and spontaneous. The acting honours undoubtedly go to Cruise - always at his best when playing someone with something to hide. His Senator Irving has the magnetic smile, twinkling eyes and "trust me" demeanour that is bred into the bones of all major US politicos. But there are moments where that facade cracks just enough to show the "love it or leave it" jingoism that lurks beneath the smooth surface. Cruise is nothing less that spectacular - could this be the role that finally gets him the little statuette?
I hope, however, that when envelope season begins in Hollywood there is room for Andrew Garfield's name. A US-born but British-trained talent, this magnetic young actor has star quality is spades - quite a compliment when you look at the company he's keeping. (Watch his wonderfully expressive eyes when he's talking to Redford - there's a real, thinking person in there.) His character manages to be charming, intelligent, self-deceiving, confused and scared - a lot like the rest of his generation.
If Lions for Lambs doesn't succeed on every level, it does pack an intellectual and emotional punch - and isn't it better to try and fail than fail to try?
Malley wants Todd to rise above the cynical and dismissive attitude of his generation and engage with the world. To illustrate this he tells the story of two students who took that message to heart and joined the Marines - and we watch as the two recruits get caught up in a terrible situation in the icy mountains of Afghanistan.
In a separate storyline, journalist Janine Roth (Meryl Streep) and up-and-coming GOP star Senator Jasper Irving (Tom Cruise) meet for the senator to unveil (albeit only piecemeal) his plans to escalate the Afghan campaign (and his own presidential ambitions) in an ill- thought-out military intervention. Irving plays masterfully on the media's complicity with enabling the current Iraq War and also on Roth's (and the audience's) innate fear of another 9/11.
If that all sounds a little preachy, well it is. WIth most scenes consisting of two people in a room talking to one another, and everyone from Socrates to von Clausewitz getting a name- check, many people may be turned off - and this unwillingness to engage in debate is, ironically, one of the film's major themes. But I found it refreshing to hear a lot of these views (from both sides of the political spectrum) get an airing on such a high-profile platform as a major Hollywood movie.
And the cast doesn't come much more high-profile than this. While I found Meryl Streep's earnest TV reporter a little unconvincing and Redford's professor too perfect they both turn in solid performances, with Streep especially making the dialogue seem utterly fresh and spontaneous. The acting honours undoubtedly go to Cruise - always at his best when playing someone with something to hide. His Senator Irving has the magnetic smile, twinkling eyes and "trust me" demeanour that is bred into the bones of all major US politicos. But there are moments where that facade cracks just enough to show the "love it or leave it" jingoism that lurks beneath the smooth surface. Cruise is nothing less that spectacular - could this be the role that finally gets him the little statuette?
I hope, however, that when envelope season begins in Hollywood there is room for Andrew Garfield's name. A US-born but British-trained talent, this magnetic young actor has star quality is spades - quite a compliment when you look at the company he's keeping. (Watch his wonderfully expressive eyes when he's talking to Redford - there's a real, thinking person in there.) His character manages to be charming, intelligent, self-deceiving, confused and scared - a lot like the rest of his generation.
If Lions for Lambs doesn't succeed on every level, it does pack an intellectual and emotional punch - and isn't it better to try and fail than fail to try?