Movie Review: Branded (2012)

Occasionally a parable comes along to challenge the world we live in. While many films offer critiques of the corruption of corporations or governments, it is often a Manichean world of absolute good and evil, with the former generally winning out in the end. Branded provides a more ambitious, and ultimately more disappointing attempt to critique the very fabric of our society -- exemplified in the world of advertising. Written and Directed by Jamie Bradshaw and Alexander Doulerain, it follows the exploits of ambitious young marketing genius Misha Galkin (Ed Stoppard), who rises from working at a Vodka stand in central Moscow after the fall of communism to the very heart of the world of advertising. Yet he isn't finding the happiness and satisfaction he desires, primarily because his American boss Bob Gibbons (Jeffrey Tambor) won't make him a partner. On top of this, he ends up sleeping with that American boss' daughter, Abby Gibbons (Leelee Sobieski), in an absurd sex scene in his car and is caught by the father, thus getting fired. A bizarre scene follows where Gibbons dies and Misha then goes on a voyage of discovery to the bucolic outskirts of Russia where he, among other things, slaughters a red cow. He soon returns to Moscow to rekindle his romance with Abby, discovering that they had a son together. From here he launches his plan to destroy advertising, based primarily on his "ability" to see the monsters the marketing world uses to colonize our dreams.

The central argument of the film thus revolves around the evils of the marketing world and the ways they are trying to get in our heads -- in this case by convincing us that fat is the new thin. This plan is hatched by an unnamed marketing guru played by Max von Sydow (why he got involved in this project is beyond me). We also learn more of the wonders of marketing through Misha, who likens the field to Lenin and his propaganda model. In the end, not surprisingly, Misha wins and all advertising is outlawed in Russia. But the ending is as predictable as it is welcome -- merely because the film is finally over. Branded was sold as a new collaboration between Russian and American filmmakers, shot on location there but with some middling actors and actresses from the U.S. It was also sold as a satire, weird because the only funny scenes came from the absurdity of the story. 

It is too bad though, as the film certainly highlights the ridiculous lengths marketers and advertisers are willing to go to colonize our needs, wants and desires. Bad, often wooden acting, a silly script, poor CGI and a lack of humor all sink this ironic attempt to critique the world of advertising through one of its favorite vehicles. It is bizarre how often these deeper critiques of society fall flat when pushed toward the silver screen, as the nature of their critique maybe seems too at odds with the fact they are part of the very machine they are critiquing -- marketing geniuses, a profit-driven model, selling the public dreams on the cheap and serving as the central focal point of the spectacle society. Yet where else can we turn to critique this world but in its cavity center?