Lions For Lambs (2007) 8/10

Starring : Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise, Michael Pena, Derek Luke, Andrew Garfield, Peter Berg
Director : Robert Redford
Running Time : 88 mins

Professor Stephen Malley (Redford) tells one of his disillusioned students, Todd Hayes (Garfield) the story of two of his students, Ernest (Pena) and Arian (Luke), combined decision to join the war against terrorism, in the hope of inspiring him to do something great with his life. Meanwhile, presidential hopeful Jasper Irving (Cruise) tells reporter Janine Roth (Streep) all about the government’s plans to secure victory in Afghanistan.

This was a very effective movie which uses words rather than action to describe the effect war can have on people, not just those directly involved but also those who have to stay on home soil and deal with it. We have a reported having to accept the words of a senator without judging them, a senator who is using the war to further his career, and a teacher who doesn’t want his students to waste their lives, but instead to stand up for something. There are some very underplayed, powerful performances here, and this is definitely one to go and see.

You’ll like this if you liked : Syriana