Barry Levinson's film strikes a very specific tone. He shrewdly walks a tight rope from beginning to end of the film that allows the story to be carried along in a way that makes you wonder, "Wait, what? What just happened?" The balance between the dramatic drive of the characters, particularly Brean and Motss, reveals this ebb and flow between reality and satire. The subject matter is so far fetched it cannot be real. But the fact that everyone goes through with it makes it this unbelievable story that we as the audience get to participate in by seeing behind the curtain so to speak of the political machine that runs the country.
Levinson uses the allure of Hollywood and the power of government to seduce the audience into having the feeling of either wanting to be a part of all of this, or of being sick. We see Motss coming out of his home where he has an elaborate driveway with a limousine waiting for Brean and Winifred and in front of them a breathtaking view of Los Angeles. But the substance of it is made from the blue screen special effects Motss uses to create a fake war in Albania. Thus Levinson further drives home the stereotype that Hollywood is corrupting the masses because, well Motss is deceiving them with his ability to tell a lie so truthfully and we see that in this sequence from Levinson.
The use of imagery in this film is quite clear by the director. One example is when Levinson uses the CIA agent played by William H. Macy as a literal means to show division between Brean and Winifred. Brean is calculating, strong and not to be messed with even though he knows he's in the wrong. While Winifred sits on the other side of the agents dark outline nervously moving her hands and asking for her lawyer to be present as her words fumble out of her mouth. By the end of their time together the CIA agent is telling them to have a safe trip. The image then tells us the CIA agents intention was to create division between them in order for them to crack but Brean's solidarity to his cause remained and won out as the shadowy nature of the agent is revealed in the end. He is working for the President's political opponent in order to sway voters his way.
Mr. Levinson is known for being able to handle very serious subject matter with a great deal of care, irony, charm and levity. And he once again achieves all of this in Wag the Dog which served as a political statement and eerily became a sign of the times as one year later the Clinton sex scandal erupted and surrounding bombings during the initial breaking of the scandal and his impeachment seemed to raise suspicion that they were more than a coincidence. If we will ever know the truth is hard to say. As the film shows us it most likely will depend on what the media feeds us.
