From Netflix, a War Film as Satire
What does it mean to win a war? This question is never asked outright in “War Machine,” a new Netflix original movie starring Brad Pitt and written and directed by David Michôd, but it’s a substantial thematic undercarriage of this satire.
The movie, which was released May 26, is adapted from Michael Hastings’s 2012 book, “The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America’s War in Afghanistan.” Mr. Pitt plays the fictional General Glen McMahon, whose first words on touching down in Afghanistan, circa 2009, are “Let’s go win this thing!” He approaches the task of winning Afghan hearts and minds with enthusiasm and boundless ignorance.
Mr. Hastings’s book is about the misadventures of the real General Stanley A. McChrystal, whose brief tenure as the commander of United States and international forces in Afghanistan came to an end after Mr. Hastings wrote a profile for Rolling Stone in which the general and his cadre were quoted making remarks critical of the Obama administration.
Mr. Hastings’s book ( he died in a car accident in 2013) came Mr. Michôd’s way at an opportune time.
“I had been looking for a way in to a theme: the two modern theaters of American war, Iraq and Afghanistan,” recalled Mr. Michôd, who is Australian. “I had assumed that given the nature of my first two movies that what I would come up with would be another dark, brutal movie. And I was resisting delving into those depths.”
Then “The Operators” was sent to him. “It showed me the way in, which is satire,” Mr. Michôd said. “The book has a kind of gonzo levity and a group of characters who either by virtue of hubris or the simple insani- ty of war seem to be larger than life.”
Mr. Michôd wanted the freedom to be loose with his vision, so fictionalized the characters. (One of the few real-life figures to retain a real name is the former president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, played by Ben Kingsley.)
“War Machine” portrays the gen- eral’s perspective throughout, as he grouses about modern irritants like “Pizza Kings and Burger Huts” and relies on his I.T. aide to help him use his electric razor. Mr. Pitt comes close to the margin of caricature, all gruff intonations and chest- pumping, but often General McMahon is not entirely unsympathetic. He has a Candide-like naïveté, which is not altogether charming in an individual who’s in charge of a sprawling military force.
“I wanted the movie to not just be about madness but to be kind of insane in and of itself,” Mr. Michôd said. “The kind of movies I wanted to make — interesting, bold, strange pictures that had resources and budgets — were not what the studios were interested in. And suddenly this beautiful Netflix window opened up. And brought resources, combined with a desire to take risks.”