Political satire is one of the trickiest of genres; this one, running out of steam and nerve, ultimately becomes a too-familiar example of another genre: the 93-minute movie that feels way, way too long.
The Oath does not rise to the level of Pieces of April, but it offers outlandish satire amid family politics in the midst of a national situation that calls for little thanksgiving.
I found it to be the equivalent of a free-swinging slugger who is willing to strike out once, twice, even three times - but then hits one clear out of the park. It's worth the risk-reward ratio.
With his eye keenly trained on the various ways ideology manifests as personality, Barinholtz wrings both hilarity and dread out of the chaotic moment before hope is lost.
