Released almost a year to the day after Barack Obama took his place as President of the United States, Game Change landed into the political soccer field with a wallop, and quickly became the talk of the DC insider circuit. Written by Mark Halperin and John Heileman, the gossipy tell-all proved to be the final escape hatch for a lot of supposed experts who saw their careers waylaid by piss poor decisions, leading to a level of backstabbing and leaked information that was virtually unprecedented. It made for an entertaining read, like skimming through the National Enquirer while in a check-out line. And much like those scandalous rags with their silly celebrity headlines, most of what was inside turned out to be true, despite all the protestations by those the book would highlight.
Game Change was pretty even handed in it's dirt digging, exposing some ugly facts about Hilary Clinton's 2008 campaign as well as the bedroom shenanigans of John Edwards. For HBO's new film adaptation of the book, from the same guys who gave us the excellent Recount a few years ago, the focus is squarely on the Republican side of the ticket, and the roller coaster that was John McCain(Ed Harris) and his polarizing running mate, Sarah Palin(Julianne Moore).
Consider the film less of a biopic and more of a fact finding mission, as writer Danny Strong attempts to uncover how a dedicated war hero with a campaign proudly boasting "Country First" could nominate someone as hopeless as Palin to be within a breath of the Presidency. The obvious answer is desperation, but there's more to it than that. It takes a concerted and sustained level of willful ignorance for something like this to happen, and it starts right at the top. Centering mostly on McCain's senior adviser, Steve Schmidt(Woody Harrelson), who first put forth the idea of selecting the popular Alaskan Governor as a means of rallying the flagging conservative base, the campaign's highs and lows are seen mostly through his bloodshot eyes. Palin's nomination would not only give the base the red meat it so desired, steal the thunder from the mega popular Obama machine, and possibly even rally the Clinton supporters to their side. The campaign needed a game changer, and Palin was it. She was the world's most charismatic lump of clay, ready to be shaped. Or so they thought. She was new to the national stage, however, and was instantly a liability in terms of experience. Could McCain give up his principles and select someone he knows isn't ready to be President, all just for the sake of a victory? Would he be "Country First" when it really mattered?
For those who follow the political grind on a daily basis, there's little new to learn about who Sarah Palin was back then. She was a simple, determined mother who got caught up in the glitz of the global stage. When she accepts the vice-presidential nomination, her calm and reserve is unbelievable, shocking everyone in McCain's camp. However, it isn't long before they realize just how big of a mistake they've made, and all the attempts to pull a Pygmalion on her are going to be utter failures. The film shows her disastrous, often mocked interviews with Charlie Gibson(although the "Bush Doctrine" question is left out) and Katie Couric, where Palin is stumped by a simple question of what newspapers she reads. The constant criticism forces her into a mental breakdown of sorts, and any attempt to help her is met with resistance. Uh oh, time to start goin' rogue!
The film is especially fascinated with two defining character arcs. One is Palin's transformation from an unknown hockey mom into an egotistical, perpetual victim who terrorized her staff, leading to some claiming she was mentally unstable. The other is that of Schmidt, who comes to see how the decision he made in choosing her was the most awful mistake of his career, that didn't just threaten McCain's campaign, but also could ruin everyone's reputation forever. Oh, and it might damage the country's standing in the world, too. Julianne Moore is going to get all the attention for her performance as Palin, and she darn well deserves it. After so many Palin imitations, not the least of which by Tina Fey, playing her in any realistic manner is tough, but Moore nails her folksy manner and Eddie Haskell charm perfectly. If this was a feature film, Moore would be a shoe-in for Best Actress right now. Harrelson shouldn't be overlooked, either. His Steve Schmidt(aka the "Schmidt Head) bears little resemblance to the real man, now an excellent MSNBC contributor. The only thing they have in common is the bald head. Harrelson creates his own version of Schmidt, a man conflicted by his pledge to do everything to win and his desire to maintain some dignity.
Few people come out of this smelling like a rose, although it's not entirely a hit piece. Palin does come off as someone completely overwhelmed by the experience, even if she entered it for all the right reasons. There are some genuinely effective moments that portray her in a positive light, or at the very least show why she resonated with so many people. One of those scenes comes fairly early on, as she's speaking about her disable son, Trig. To have someone of Palin's stature have a personal stake in advocating for children of special needs struck home with a lot of people. As she began to lose more of herself to the needs of the campaign, Palin lost that connection and was consumed by the need to say and do anything to win. It became all about her need for more of the spotlight. Ultimately she comes off as nasty, mean-spirited, conniving, and worst of all.....dumb.
Jay Roach and Danny Strong do their usual excellent job navigating the political waters with a mix of humor and darkness, as they did with Recount. The 2008 campaign is arguably the most fascinating in this country's history, and the film only shows us one small sliver of it. As well as it shows the dramatic surge of enthusiasm Palin provides to Republicans, we never get to see the equal amounts of fear she inspired in the Democratic base. In fact, we only see Barack Obama and Joe Biden in stock footage. HBO may be looking at the first leg of a possible trilogy here, with the next showing the combative primary between Hilary Clinton and Obama. Then...if we're all lucky, maybe we'll get to see Obama's historic Presidential campaign from his perspective?
