Review: Lions for Lambs (2007)

Rating:★★★★
Category:Movies
Genre: Drama
A film starring Tom Cruise, Robert Redford, and Meryl Streep is expected to be great; hence, I waited until "Lions for Lambs" was shown on cable (being busy on my thesis during the movie's theatrical release). The movie was on the War of Terror told in three angles: a professor and his student, a senator and a journalist, and two soldiers on their first assignment.

Though I was expecting more action from this film (because of the two soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan), the arguments between the student and the professor, and those between the journalist and the senator, were all compelling. Indeed, these discussions may not present any new position or preach a new strategy, but these provide different points of view; foreigners watching on the sidelines can glimpse at what is going on in America. Movies could be reflections of one's version of reality after all... a social commentary, for some.

Does this mean that lions are being sent by lambs to fight the War on Terror? The film does not give a straight out answer. However, it does try to re-engage Americans' interest on this war, and regain their support. In the end, the decisions are not clear, with the ambiguous last scene of Streep's and the student's stare at the television while news on the Afghan front was being flashed on-screen.

I liked this film primarily because it exhibits the acting chops of the three leads.The music was so subtle that I focused entirely on the dialogue. I felt like I was watching a theater performance caught on film.

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