Robert Redford, Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise star in Lions for Lambs, a story that digs behind the news, the politics and a nation divided to explore the human consequences of a complicated war. The story begins after two determined students at a West Coast University, Arian (Derek Luke) and Ernest (Michael Pena), follow the inspiration of their idealistic professor, Dr. Malley (Redford), and attempt to do something important with their lives. But when the two make the bold decision to join the battle in Afghanistan, Malley is both moved and distraught. Now, as Arian and Ernest fight for survival in the field, they become the string that binds together two disparate stories on opposite sides of America. In California, an anguished Dr. Malley attempts to reach a privileged but disaffected student (Andrew Garfield) who is the very opposite of Arian and Ernest. Meanwhile, in Washington D.C. the charismatic Presidential hopeful, Senator Jasper Irving (Cruise), is about to give a bombshell story to a probing TV journalist (Streep) that may affect Arian and Ernest’s fates. As arguments, memories and bullets fly, the three stories are woven ever more tightly together, revealing how each of these Americans has a profound impact.
I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this movie. I'm not remtoely a news/politics follower. I actually found myself feeling a lot like the student that Robert Redford was talking to during this movie because I tend to choose ignorance over having to deal with whats going on in the world and the propoganda that goes with it. I'm not one of those morons that hangs on to the latest happenings of Brittny Spears or the "tragic" death of Anna Nicole, but it simply depresses me to much to really follow all of the happenings that I tend to feel are in vain. Anywho - that's enough personal commentary. Let's get back to the movie. This movie was essentially two seperate converstaions going on while two troops are stuck under attack. I loved the back and forth of the conversations/stranded soldiers and it came together tighter as the movie went on. Even though I kind of felt like this movie was more of a public service announcement than a movie, I thought that it was very well done, written, and acted.
I would recommend people checking this out. It might not be a lot of peoples cup of tea, but it wasn't really mine either and I ended up liking it a lot.
