Drama/Action. Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise, Michael Pena, Derek Luke, Andrew Garfield, Peter Berg. Director: Robert Redford
Lions For Lambs is the latest drama fashioned from newspaper headlines about conflict in the Middle East, and the responsibilities born by the men in suits in Washington DC.
Screenwriter Matthew Michael Carnahan, who also penned the thriller The Kingdom, trudges over familiar territory - war is bad, politicians lie, the media shoulders some of the blame.
The film opens as TV reporter Janine Roth (Meryl Streep) is tipped off by Senator Jasper Irving (Tom Cruise) of a new offensive to be launched in the Middle East, while in California, college professor Stephen Malley (Robert Redford) challenges talented student Todd Hayes (Andrew Garfield) about his commitment - with grim consequences.
Lions For Lambs is extremely worthy, and Redford's film will certainly appeal to Oscar voters, not least due to a tremendous performance from Streep. She acts Cruise off screen and the segments with Redford and Garfield are similarly unbalanced, in favour of the younger actor.
But the film is politically and emotionally lightweight. It's also shamelessly manipulative.
THREE STARS
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