Movie Review: Lions For Lambs

“Lions for Lambs” intertwines three stories focused on the effects of the Iraq war. The story follows a poli-sci professor trying to inspire a student, two soldiers who were the professors students fighting in the Iraq war and a Republican senator seeking the presidency being interviewed by a reporter about his goals for the Iraq war.

This is an anti war movie and it certainly touches on the subject well. The scenes between Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise seem to be the weakest part in the movie. I think this is due to the uninspired acting job by Cruise. Streep is excellent as usual and makes the most of her role as the conflicted reporter. If you are reacting while acting with another actor who is fairly weak it makes it harder to do justice to the script and this seems to be the case here. Redford’s scene are well done and Todd Hayes as the student he is talking to does a good job in the role.

Redford’s excellence as a director in previous movies is obvious but this movie is the exception. I would venture to say it is not as much the direction but the screenplay that brings this film down. Somehow the story parts do not gel well together. Each story is interesting in itself but they do not mesh well as a whole, with the idea is a great one, the message important but the execution lacking.

I’m giving this movie a higher rating than it should receive for the excellent acting work of Streep, Redford and the supporting cast.

2007. Directed by Robert Redford. Starring Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Todd Hayes and Tom Cruise.

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