Iannucci scores a hit with ‘In the Loop’

Armando Iannucci, the British comic and screenwriter, is causing a commotion at the Sundance film festival with his first major film offering. Called In the Loop, it is the big-screen companion piece to the acclaimed BBC TV series The Thick of It, and explores how the invasion of Iraq was sold to the public on both sides of the Atlantic.

Described as an "acid satire", it stars James Gandolfini, the star of the smash hit US mafia drama The Sopranos, and the British actor Peter Capaldi, who reprises his The Thick of It role as role as Malcolm Tucker, the splenetic, combative director of communications, loosely based on the Downing Street spindoctor Alastair Campbell.

In a rare five star write-up, the Times said "this stark, foul-mouthed black comedy is an artfully written skit that combines pin-sharp characterisation with brutally effective one-liners", and described it as "a classic British comedy reminiscent of the very best of old Ealing". The Hollywood journal Variety was no less complimentary, saying that "intelligent political satire, this expertly acted, is nothing to sneeze at".

Screen International, however, sounded a note of caution. While admitting it was likely to play well in the UK, it suggested it might be less appealing to American audiences. "US fans of The Office could rally for this one," it said, "although its exuberant, boundless cynicism will test the demand for political satire in an Obama-infatuated America."

This could be a breakthrough moment for 44-year-old Iannucci. He was one of the guiding lights of the BBC programmes, On the Hour and The Day Today, but while these shows catapulted Steve Coogan and Chris Morris to greater things, he has, until now, not achieved wider acknowledgement of his gifts.
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