The British comedy In the Loop, released today, is a film that offers many pleasures, but we think the greatest one may be Peter Capaldi’s Tasmanian Devil–like performance as the British prime minister’s unspeakably foulmouthed director of communications — a performance we’re hoping will be remembered come awards time. It may surprise you, though, to learn that Capaldi already has an Academy Award: In 1995, his Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life won the Best Short Film Oscar. As the Capra-Kafka wordplay in the title suggests, it’s a feel-good comedy — albeit a surreal and occasionally quite disturbing one — about the famously tormented author (played by the never-not-awesome Richard E. Grant) attempting to write the opening line of The Metamorphosis. Seriously, it will somehow both warm your heart and creep into your dreams. If you like this, check out the other shorts available along with it in the Vanguard DVD.
