Redford roars at the state of the nation

Published on November 29, 2007

Lions for Lambs

Cast: Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Michael Pena, Andrew Garfield, Peter Berg

Directed by Robert Redford

Running time: 88 minutes

Hanuman ratings: HHHH

Though the movie has drawn a lot of flack in negative reviews, Redford's fans will be pleased to hear that the actor-director has not compromised the film's content to sell tickets.

Fans of Michael Bay or Steven Spielberg will be waiting for a long, long time before they get such good news.

To be sure, few filmmakers in the US have reached the level of respect earned by Redford, whose earlier works include excellent political dramas such as "The Candidate".

There, as a Kennedy-like figure on the campaign trail, he portrayed the rise of a charismatic young politician whose good intentions are soon washed away by the compromise and fakery critical to political survival.

In "All the President's Men", he gave us a window onto the workings of a media institution: The Washington Post. He paired up with Dustin Hoffman for a portrayal of Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, the newshounds who sniffed out the Watergate scandal.

Bringing his deep understanding of the relationship between US politics, the media and patriotic heroes, Redford dives into his new film with vigour and purpose.

"Lions for Lambs" forces audiences to confront the nature of America's role in places such as Afghanistan and Iraq: not an easy premise to say the least.

But with America so divided on the issue, Redford's efforts to further the debate might look like an attempt to douse a blaze with petrol.

It's true that America has changed an awful lot since "Candidate", which was made in the '70s. Since Reagan, mainstream America has flowed so far to the right that it is almost impossible today to offer a balanced view without being tarred and feathered as a liberal.

Perhaps this very reason makes "Lions for Lambs" even more important viewing.

The quality of acting here is very good. Cruise plays a dashing and ruthlessly ambitious senator supporting the War on Terror in an effort to further his career. Meryl Streep plays the veteran reporter sent to interview him.

If the popcorn cinema of Spielberg and his ilk are what you want, stay at home. But if you're after something meatier to get your teeth into, hunt down "Lions for Lambs".