239. The Brink; movie review

THE BRINK
Cert 15
91 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong language

There they were - right-winger Steve Bannon in cahoots with a group of fascist leaders from around the world - and Nigel Farage.
Yes, the Brexit Party leader who claims that Britain should be proud and powerful enough to go it alone and that the EU has built up a toxic empire.
It turns out that he wants to help build a fascist movement across the globe.
The Brink is not about Farage - although he appears in it several times - its subject matter is Bannon, the man behind Donald Trump's successful 2016 presidential campaign.
Bannon, a Christian, is unswerving in his world view and does not see the contradiction in espousing views which would be difficult to find in the bible.
This is not a man who cares for his neighbours or is likely to be playing Good Samaritan to those in need.
Alison Klayman's movie is a fly-on-the-wall of Bannon in the months after he departed from the White House.
It does not comment on his policies but allows them to speak for themselves. Presumably, his fans will think he is correct while the rest of us will be agog in disbelief and despair that he has an iota of influence.
The film follows him in private jets to meetings and conferences abroad as he tries to propel The Movement forward.
Meanwhile, he also campaigns for the infamous judge Roy Moore and The Republicans at the mid-term elections.
And he is photographed with fans, insisting over and over that women should be at the centre and "the rose between two thorns".
Defeat does not deflect him from what he seems to see as a moral crusade which most of us would view as immoral.
He speaks about Donald Trump glowingly but is not seen with him not does he call him a friend, seemingly cautious since being labelled 'Sloppy Steve'.
It is the only arena in which Bannon holds back - everyone from "lefties" to co-conspirators of The Movement gets both barrels.
His views will resonate with those who support a populist agenda - and don't care about the key Christian value of being neighbourly.
How they have received such a prominent platform remains a mystery.

Reasons to watch: An insight into one of the wold's power-brokers
Reasons to avoid: Scarier than any horror film

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7/10

Did you know? Steve Bannon left Goldman Sachs to start his own investment bank. He struck gold when he invested in the then-obscure show, Seinfeld.


The final word. Alison Klayman: "The whole point of the film was to observe him in action and as closely as I could. For me, as a film-maker, I never wanted to separate what he was doing from the consequences of his rhetoric and his actions."

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