Okay, so this movie is BOMBING. Apparently people hate it. But, you know, most people aren't saying they don't like it period, they're saying that they couldn't follow it. I could follow the movie, and I liked it a lot. I want to spend this review trying to give the (spoiler-free) background that will help the story make sense. Hopefully with a bit of background, people will be able to make some sense of it, and might enjoy it as much as I did.
"The Last Thing He Wanted" has an urgent story to tell about politics, power, and violence. It is packed with a crazy amount of details, which is overwhelming, but they are all true (or fictionalized details that are close to the truth). The author of the original novel, Joan Didion, was a journalist like the main character. You need to approach this as a kind of exposé of how politics worked in the 80's and still works today, not as a piece of escapism.
In the 80's, the Reagan administration was heavily involved in Central America and the Caribbean. "The Last Thing He Wanted" is mostly concerned with Nicaragua. At the time, a leftist Sandinista government was in power there. As part of the Cold War, the US was supporting a group of "Contras," armed forces fighting against the Sandinistas. The problem is that the Contras were, as it says on Wikipedia, "engaged in a systematic campaign of terror" against the populace.
Reagan was vocal in his support of the Contras. Elena (played by Anne Hathaway) quotes him early in the movie, mentioning that he had said "I too am a Contra." However, the extent of US involvement there was kept mostly under wraps. The CIA and other organizations were involved in all kinds of secretive business, including what would eventually be the "Iran-Contra Scandal," something I don't have space to explain here.
The whole plot of "The Last Thing He Wanted" plays out against this backdrop. As the movie begins, Elena is investigating the atrocities committed by US-backed soldiers. She's trying to crack open the case so that the government is held accountable. In a very early scene, Treat (Ben Affleck), who I think is in the CIA, discusses with another Washington type whether they should allow her to keep working or not.
Their conversation alerts us to the shadiness of the CIA and other US government agencies in this movie. They want to control the conversation in America so that they can act with impunity in Central America. In other words, the question of American democracy at home and foreign policy abroad are inextricable. Elena wants democracy at home and accountability abroad, and that puts her at odds with Washington.
So, in the main plot of the movie, when Elena is back in Central America, we are stuck in the middle of all kinds of conflicts. Are the people she is dealing with Sandinistas, Contras, or unaffiliated? Are they connected to the US government, and if so, do they know she's an investigative journalist? Could they be connected to other foreign governments?
The situation depicted in "The Last Thing He Wanted" is so relevant, because it's this exact problem which is at the heart of politics today. Now, voters in America are disenchanted with a government they see as unresponsive and unaccountable. Likewise, the world at large is eschewing American leadership, partly out of distrust. Both of these facts can be traced to just such situations as these.
If you want to dig a bit deeper into the present political moment, learn more about the world of "The Last Thing He Wanted"! Even if you never like the movie, it's important to understand. Once you know the historical background, I think you'll find the movie much more rewarding, too.
"The Last Thing He Wanted" has an urgent story to tell about politics, power, and violence. It is packed with a crazy amount of details, which is overwhelming, but they are all true (or fictionalized details that are close to the truth). The author of the original novel, Joan Didion, was a journalist like the main character. You need to approach this as a kind of exposé of how politics worked in the 80's and still works today, not as a piece of escapism.
In the 80's, the Reagan administration was heavily involved in Central America and the Caribbean. "The Last Thing He Wanted" is mostly concerned with Nicaragua. At the time, a leftist Sandinista government was in power there. As part of the Cold War, the US was supporting a group of "Contras," armed forces fighting against the Sandinistas. The problem is that the Contras were, as it says on Wikipedia, "engaged in a systematic campaign of terror" against the populace.
Reagan was vocal in his support of the Contras. Elena (played by Anne Hathaway) quotes him early in the movie, mentioning that he had said "I too am a Contra." However, the extent of US involvement there was kept mostly under wraps. The CIA and other organizations were involved in all kinds of secretive business, including what would eventually be the "Iran-Contra Scandal," something I don't have space to explain here.
The whole plot of "The Last Thing He Wanted" plays out against this backdrop. As the movie begins, Elena is investigating the atrocities committed by US-backed soldiers. She's trying to crack open the case so that the government is held accountable. In a very early scene, Treat (Ben Affleck), who I think is in the CIA, discusses with another Washington type whether they should allow her to keep working or not.
Their conversation alerts us to the shadiness of the CIA and other US government agencies in this movie. They want to control the conversation in America so that they can act with impunity in Central America. In other words, the question of American democracy at home and foreign policy abroad are inextricable. Elena wants democracy at home and accountability abroad, and that puts her at odds with Washington.
So, in the main plot of the movie, when Elena is back in Central America, we are stuck in the middle of all kinds of conflicts. Are the people she is dealing with Sandinistas, Contras, or unaffiliated? Are they connected to the US government, and if so, do they know she's an investigative journalist? Could they be connected to other foreign governments?
The situation depicted in "The Last Thing He Wanted" is so relevant, because it's this exact problem which is at the heart of politics today. Now, voters in America are disenchanted with a government they see as unresponsive and unaccountable. Likewise, the world at large is eschewing American leadership, partly out of distrust. Both of these facts can be traced to just such situations as these.
If you want to dig a bit deeper into the present political moment, learn more about the world of "The Last Thing He Wanted"! Even if you never like the movie, it's important to understand. Once you know the historical background, I think you'll find the movie much more rewarding, too.