“What do we do now?” is the rhetorical question posed by Senator Jasper Irving (Tom Cruise) during a conversation with media representative Janine Roth (Meryl Streep) in one of the opening scenes from ‘Lions for Lambs’, the new film directed by Robert Redford.
“Do you know what you’re getting?” is the direct question from a college student to fellow student Todd (Andrew Garfield), after a summoned confrontation with Professor Dr. Malley (Redford), during the film’s closing scene.
In many ways, these unrelated questions, asked by the two demographic groups in Mathew Michael Carnahan’s (‘The Kingdom’) screenplay, symbolise one of the main themes of the film. And that is - the decisions made now will affect and influence future generations’ approach to problem-solving issues.
At a time when the public’s nonchalance towards such real-life issues as global-warming and the ‘war on terror’ is becoming increasingly prevalent, this unassuming political-drama couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time. Robert Redford has developed a remarkable ability in choosing socially-conscious films, and then presenting them in an effortlessly fluid and always-engaging manner. In his earlier directorial effort, the Oscar-winning film ‘Quiz Show’, released in 1994, Redford touched upon a related theme from ‘Lions for lambs’: how ethically corrupted will the media become in order to sell a product, and how apathetic will the viewing public become as a result.
It goes without saying that technically speaking ‘Lions for lambs’ has been put together with all-rounded class. Executive producers Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner have a long, successful history in film production, which has instilled in them a formidable knowledge of how best to ‘conduct’ the full gamut of the film-making process. However, the talk-provoking nature of this film is what is really worth selling to you. ‘Lions for lambs’ is a concise, fluid, and receptive film dealing with a current political/social climate that is anything but. I highly recommend you see it, and I strongly urge you talk about it.
Lions For Lambs was released in 2007, and is now available on DVD.
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