Vice

Christian Bale is the infamous Dick Cheney, in Adam ‘The Big Short’ McKay’s exuberant and acrid satire.

From wilderness years to White House, Dick Cheney’s life is ready-made for cinema. But in the hands of Adam McKay, director of The Big Short, it becomes something else altogether.

There’s a trademark exuberance to the telling, brought to life by a weight-gained Christian Bale. It’s a typically no-holds performance that would eclipse many an other actor, except when your support cast includes Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell and Amy Adams. She’s Lynne Cheney, the steely wife who inspired and navigated her husband’s rise to power, a fascinating adjunct to the more familiar stories explored here. "You chose me," concludes the man at the centre of it all, "and I did what you asked."