In the Loop

In the Loop follows British international development minister Simon Foster, whose careless remark about the prospect of war in the Middle East sets off a scramble on both sides of the Atlantic. With the American president and the British prime minister moving toward military action, officials and advisers split into camps that push for the invasion or work to stop it. Foster is drawn into the manoeuvring in Washington, where he finds both allies and opponents, among them the prime minister's combative communications chief, Malcolm Tucker.

Armando Iannucci directed the film, the second in his filmography after 1999's Tube Tales and the one that precedes The Death of Stalin and The Personal History of David Copperfield. He wrote it with Jesse Armstrong and Simon Blackwell, and Kevin Loader and Adam Tandy produced. Peter Capaldi plays Tucker, Tom Hollander plays Foster, and the cast includes Gina McKee, James Gandolfini as Lieutenant General George Miller, Chris Addison and Anna Chlumsky, with 31 credited performers in all.

Made for about 1 million USD, the film took roughly 8 million USD worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.4/10 from around 64,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 7/10 from a much smaller base of about 800 votes. A critics' rating of 8.1/10 from 177 reviews places it above both audience scores.