W. Review [2]

Posted by Shawn S. Lealos on 10.22.2008

How will Oliver Stone's latest political film be remembered?

Directed by Oliver Stone
Written by Stanley Weiser
Cinematography by Phedon Papamichael

Josh Brolin ... George W. Bush
James Cromwell ... George H.W. Bush
Ellen Burstyn ... Barbara Bush
Elizabeth Banks ... Barbara Bush
Richard Dreyfuss ... Dick Cheney
Scott Glenn ... Donald Rumsfeld
Ioan Gruffudd ... Tony Blair
Toby Jones ... Karl Rove
Stacy Keach ... Earle Hudd
Thandie Newton ... Condoleezza Rice
Jason Ritter ... Jeb Bush
Jeffrey Wright ... Colin Powell
Noah Wyle ... Don Evans
Michael Gaston ... Gen. Tommy Franks




Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

I went into W as someone who holds President George W. Bush in very low regard. I want to make it clear that in reviewing this movie, I am reviewing the movie on the basis of how the movie works and the people portrayed in W on the characters in the movie, not the actual people.

Oliver Stone has already proven that he can make an interesting film out of just about anything he puts his mind to. This is one of many attempts by Stone to inject his tone into the world of politics. The problem Stone faces in this film is the fact that Bush is still in the public eye and it is practically impossible to go into this movie without a strong opinion one way or the other about the man.

Regardless of your feelings towards John Kennedy, it is impossible not to look at the craft of JFK and appreciate what Stone accomplished in his masterpiece. Richard Nixon was an embarrassment to the country, yet Nixon was released at a time when the movie could be judged on its own merits without pre-conceived notions going into the movie.

Many felt that W would be a personal attack on Bush by Stone. The rushed release made it seem like the filmmakers were trying to capitalize on the upcoming elections and possibly make a difference in public perception leading to the voting booths.

After viewing this movie, I believe those pre-conceptions are not entirely true. Yes, the movie will help elevate attention to the upcoming elections but I do not believe the movie reflects on Bush himself in any way that shows disrespect on the part of Stone.

The movie is structured in a way that takes you from flashbacks of Bush’s past to his first presidential term where he contemplates the American invasion of Iraq. It is in both the path Bush took to the presidency as well as the meetings in the present time that do not paint Bush as the buffoon the nation seems to view him as, but instead as a tragic figure who found himself in a position of power that he may have never truly wanted to begin with.

What makes the movie so powerful is the fact that Stone has crafted a story that makes you question your own beliefs, and leaves you questioning both your pre-conceived ideas as well as the ideas he presents in the movie. I found myself changing alliances a number of times throughout the film. Once I felt comfortable with a character being noble, they would do something to make me question their integrity. The film manipulated me in a way that made me realize that none of these men could be entirely trusted by the end and that is the mark of a great filmmaker.

If this movie does not earn Oscar nominations, there is something wrong. There are so many great performances in this film. At the top, kudos goes to Josh Brolin, who should earn a nomination for Best Actor with this performance. It’s hard to believe how far the kid who played Brand in The Goonies has come. Between this and last year’s No Country for Old Men, Brolin has finally come into his own.

He approaches Bush as a man with strong beliefs, yet a very flawed personality disorder. He is not a stupid man and has a strong sense of moral values yet is flustered when challenged. He is a man who knows what he wants to say but when cornered becomes tongue-tied and confused. There is a scene early, when he is running for a seat in the House of Representatives, where his opponent brings up Bush’s alcoholic past and accuses him of not being in touch with Texans. Bush was completely on the defensive and ended up losing the election due to his inability to cope with challenge.

He brought on Karl Rove (Toby Jones), a man he considers a genius, to help him come up with the answers that both addresses the challenges as well as paints himself in a better light. The performance by Brolin is so great that you come out of the movie feeling pity for Bush. Tomorrow I may find myself with distaste for our leader again, but for one day this film gave me a new outlook on him.

The supporting cast was also fantastic. Richard Dreyfuss deserves all the credit in the world for his somewhat creepy portrayal of Vice President Dick Cheney. He has the mannerisms down pat and is the character that made me change my alliances on more than one occasion. Cheney proves throughout the film to be the smartest man in the room. Quiet and subservient to Bush, but in the end Chaney proves to be the man pulling the strings of many of the more powerful decisions made in the war room. You really have to wonder how much of a mess things became was a result of the man Bush refers to throughout the movie as “Vice.”

Another great performance was that of Jeffrey Wright as General Colin Powell. I find it ironic that on the day I review this movie, Powell has announced his support of democrat Barack Obama for president over his own party. Throughout the movie, Powell displays the utmost exasperation during the talk of war surrounding him. The one man sitting in the room who has the most experience is spoken to like a young child. It is as if the grownups are only humoring the Secretary of State. The performance of Wright in this role is amazing and Powell becomes the only person outside of Bush you really care about in the political world.

If half of the scenes with Powell in the movie are true, it is clear why he was more than ready to jump ship the first chance he got.

There is one person in the movie that was just horrible, and that is Thandie Newton in her portrayal of Condoleezza Rice. I have heard Rice speak and if Newton was trying to imitate her, she failed horribly. If she was not trying an imitation, her choice of dialect was horrible. Regardless, her performance in this movie was a huge low point as she is surrounded by some fabulous actors.

When you look at the flashbacks of Bush’s rise to power, his family was cast just as well as his political allies. James Cromwell brought the goods in his performance as George Senior. He was not just a set piece to provoke his son and had ample opportunities to flex his angst. When he loses the election to Bill Clinton, he gives a heart wrenching performance. He is never one-dimensional as he pushes his son yet still remains a great antagonist to the star in this story.

I want to point out something that I felt was very important to the story. Whenever Bush felt down and at his lowest, there was one place he could go. This safe haven was center field at the Texas Rangers’ ballpark. No matter what he was going through, it was this feeling of standing in center field and catching a ball that made him realize everything was alright.

Throughout the movie, you see a number of people pushing Bush into a corner. Saddam Hussein was threatening the power of America and the 9-11 terrorist attacks had made us jump at every conceived threat. Bush, a Texan through and through, refuses to let anyone or anything threaten what he believes. Bush listens to everyone as they give him numbers and facts that are not always accurate. He never considers the fact that these people might be lying to him or misrepresenting the facts to achieve their own goals.

Eventually Bush has to make an important decision and based on the facts given, he does what he believes is right. When he is cornered at the end by reporters, in a scene reminiscent of the earlier scene at the House of Representatives debate, he is once again tongue-tied and confused. How could this happen to him when he is certain what he is doing is the right thing?

He finally returns to that old ball field and looks up only to see there is no ball coming to him. The one place he had that made him happy and content had been taken from him. He started as a good ole boy that only wanted to find something to make him happy and now finds himself the most powerful man in the world.

He is also the man with the weight of the world on his shoulder and has nowhere left to retreat. W is not a movie that paints an ugly picture of the President of the United States. It is a sad tale of a man who ends up somewhere he never wanted to be and finds himself trusting people he never should have listened to. It is a story of a lost soul.

The 411: W is another masterpiece by Oliver Stone and a movie that makes you question everything. It is exactly what a political movie should be. It is full of masterful performances and should earn a great deal of awards this year. It’s a return to form for Stone and I can’t recommend it enough.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]