My take on the HBO film Game Change.

Palin, and her pimp husband, hanging out with the Nascar crowd, who would much rather watch cars drive in a circle than watch a riveting political drama on HBO.

Now before I start let me just say that there are a LOT of excellent reviews already out there for everybody to read.

Because of that fact I do not feel that I need to talk about certain aspects of the film that have already been adequately covered by others.

However I WILL join all of the other reviewers in expressing my great admiration for the job that Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Ed Harris, Sarah Paulson and others did in bringing this story to life. I cannot tell you how many times chills ran up my back while watching this, or how many times I was convinced that Moore actually WAS Sarah Palin.

In many ways Moore embodied the character of Sarah Palin in a way that perhaps NOBODY else could have. For instance early in the film Moore started demonstrating these facial expressions that were extraordinary in the how close they were to Palin's actual expressions, many of which we have seen in moments when she was not aware that she was being filmed, or had lost control of her demeanor and her cheery facade melted away to reveal her true self, for just a moment or two.

But there was one expression that I cannot figure out how Moore was able to mimic, because I don't think it has been captured on camera as of yet. It is the look that Palin gets when she begins to realize that the person she is talking to sees through her bullshit.

I recognized it because I have seen it first hand.

That day back in January of 2009 right after Dennis and I finished interviewing Palin, she apparently started to realize that I was more than simply a friend helping Dennis hold the microphone, and this look of total paranoia began to creep across her face.  As many of you undoubtedly remember that paranoia inspired her to race across a basketball court full of teenagers in order to pursue us out of the AT&T Sports Center and ultimately write down my license plate number.

I don't believe I have ever seen that look on her face at any other time except for that one. Until last night that is, when I saw the EXACT same look on Julianne Moore's face as her character began to realize that Nicole Wallace, as played by Sarah Paulson, was beginning to suspect that she was a fraud. or worse, mentally unhinged.

If you go back and watch the movie again you will see that same psychotic look of extreme paranoia that Palin gets when she realizes somebody has seen behind the carefully draped curtain and that she has been revealed, warts and all. How Moore was able to capture that look I have no idea, but there it was nonetheless.

Another aspect of the film that I found very compelling was the portion where the "Ice Queen" made her appearance.  This is another part of Palin's character that is unrecognizable to most people who know of Palin, but which was well documented in Joe McGinniss and Frank Bailey's books, and which is well know to the people who worked for her up in Alaska.

Palin by most accounts can be very engaging, and she has that certain "something," but what is less known is that when you fall out of favor with her you essentially cease to exist, and any further interactions with her can feel as frigid as the coldest of Alaskan nights.

The Wallace character  definitely felt that sting, as did Schmidt, and I am sure a number of other staff members not represented in the movie.

In some ways the catatonic state she slipped into in the film is an offshoot of that tactic.  Essentially if she cannot freeze out an individual that is no longer kissing her ass as she so desires, because instead she is upset with a group which cannot receive such as subtle message, (Like the group of advisers in the film trying to prep her for her debate), she then turns inward and closes herself off instead.

In Alaska that took the form of going home early and hiding in Wasilla, when she was overwhelmed.  In the film she simply became uncommunicative until they brought her children down from Alaska for her to hide behind.

These may seem like very small details, but they go a very long way toward really revealing the complexities of Palin's psyche, which, as should be clear to anyone who watched the movie, is in need of an immediate therapeutic intervention.

My last observation is how Moore's Sarah Palin reacted to the arrival of Levi Johnston on the campaign trail.  Her aloofness and the look of sheer hatred that blazed from her eyes was quite withering and must have made Levi feel extraordinarily unwelcome.  All of which is very much how I believed it went down, despite the show of tenderness Palin displayed for the benefit of the cameras

Yes, she would put up Levi for the time being, but when she no longer needed him, it would be HIS turn to meet the "Ice Queen." And of course her protege, the "Ice Princess" who would some day make Mommy very proud by punishing Levi, and Levi's family, with his very own son.

Well those were my observations, please feel free to agree, or disagree, or even add your own reviews as you see fit. And let me urge you, if you have not yet seen the film, to watch it.  I cannot imagine ANYBODY, who is not a Palin-bot of course, being disappointed in the movie.

Speaking of reviews here is Geoffrey Dunn's very interesting take on the film over at the Huffington Post.