The goings-on in The Oath are not that far off from reality, sadly. The film, that arrives on January 8 on Blu-Ray, DVD and digital download formats, features the writing-directing debut of Ike Barinholtz (Blockers), who also stars alongside Tiffany Haddish (Night School).
The first-time auteur paints a picture of a nation gone mad. The Oath takes its moniker from the premise that Barinholtz’s Chris and Haddish’s Kai are a married couple with a little girl who are confronted with a deadline from America’s president to sign a commitment to support the USA no matter what.
Questioning one’s loyalty to the USA is certainly prevalent in today’s headlines, especially considering we have a “leader” who reveled in the respect that North Korean dictator’s Kim Jong Un received while Donald Trump was in Asia for a summit. Trump marveled at how Un’s subjects stood up at attention whenever he entered a room.
In The Oath, the citizens of America have until the end of the Thanksgiving holiday to sign the commitment to the country. Barinholtz masterfully mixes the traditional familial tension that follows discussing politics at the dinner table in late November as the clan gathers and infuses the current “Make America Great Again” divisive climate of real-life America to simultaneous hilarious and thought-provoking ends.
With his conservative brother Pat (portrayed by Ike’s real-life brother Jon) and his girlfriend-du-jour firmly landing on the side of “if you don’t sign The Oath you are a traitor,” Thanksgiving weekend ought to be a real hoot. Where Chris’ parents, Eleanor (Nora Dunn) and Hank (Chris Ellis) and his sister Alice (Carrie Brownstein) and her husband Clark (Jay Duplass) land on the issue seems like a given. But over the course of this tense, for them, hilarious for us, meal… allegiances to freedom and country are tested to say the least.
A new agency, part of the Homeland Security Department, has been established to enforce the signing and to investigate anyone who protests it or even has an issue with the decree. When two of those agents, Peter (John Cho) and Mason (Milly Magnussen) show up to question Chris at his home on the holiday, all sorts of insanity unfurls.
The dark comedy succeeds in bridging this fictional world and the one that plays out on the nightly news. Barinholtz also has a lot of good will in Hollywood after working his way up the ladder and as such, has a gifted ensemble ready to wield their talents in one of the timeliest comedies to arrive in 2018 (and on home video in 2019). Of course, The Oath is not being mentioned in any Oscar conversations, like Bradley Cooper is for his directing debut effort of A Star is Born. But it is still a strong debut and it is clear that The Oath is a passion project for the comedic actor who makes his political points and societal commentary come across the most entertaining, comedic and piercing manners.
Barinholtz also knows not to push it as The Oath clocks in 93 minutes. Too many comedies fail at knowing when to say when. Another element that Barinholtz’s script succeeds with is giving a nation-wide scope in the most intimate of ways. The action never leaves Chris and Kai’s abode. Yet, how the filmmaker establishes the news of the nation outside their home gives The Oath the feel of a film that is much vaster in scope. As that political firestorm gets more heated, i.e. as the deadline to sign approaches, the viewer keenly feels how divisive this issue truly is in this Barinholtz crafted world.
There are no easy answers, another arena of the storytelling effort that the first-time filmmaker scores. Just as our nation is split in the real world with those who question the president being called traitors, communists or any other number of degrading terms that seem to forget a little thing called freedom of speech.
The Oath has merely a few bonus features. The two featurettes zero in the political landscape of our world today, Fake News or Facts, while Turkey Day Trauma explores how the Thanksgiving Day madness that unfolds in The Oath was crafted, put together and tested the ensemble as each member had multiple moments to shine with not one soul wanting to be a weak link. See, if that holiday meal scene doesn’t work in the slightest, the entire effort of The Oath will be for not. The latter featurette truly gets into the creative head of the first-time filmmaker and how he not only got the best out of his filmmaking team and ensemble but achieved that while serving as the star of the entire picture. It was no easy task and one that Barinholtz earned some major cred for his work.
The Fake News or Facts featurette is an utter delight for this political science junkie who has marveled at the madness of our world today in terms of how the president labeled news that doesn’t fit into his narrative, “Fake” and turned to a faux news organization to serve as his sole source of information while he attempts to lead the free world.
Each featurette is a joy in a totally different manner. Also included is the film’s theatrical trailer and a photo gallery. But the meat of the bonus materials are those two entertaining and informative featurettes that enhance the electric experience that is The Oath.
Film Grade: B
Bonus Features: B