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Title: W.
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Scenes of alcholal abuse, parential rivalry, and mild strong language is contained. Otherwise parents will be surprised at the overall cleanness of the film. Recommended for ages 12 and up. |
I’m sure many of you reading this review won’t want to see “W.” Either you are a Bush supporter and don’t want to see a film hack the sitting president for all his flaws or you’re a liberal who simply wants to forget the last eight years happened at all. I’m sure the fact that Oliver Stone, who is known for his left wing politics, is directing it also concerns people. I would have skipped this movie along with the rest of the world, except I got very, very curious at how this was going to turn out. I walked in not knowing what to expect and walked out amazed at the film I just saw. It made me sad to think people were watching the mindless torture porn film “Saw V” when they could be watching a good movie about a complicated man. Yes, I dared to use the word complicated when describing Bush. I’m sure many of you are going to click the back button on your browser for this reason alone. If you want to see me justify that word then continue to read on.
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In “W.” Stone claims that Bush (Josh Brolin) is not so much of a reckless idiot running the country as a man who is trying to please his dad (Poppy Bush, played by James Cromwell). His dad is demanding, always prouder of older son Jeb, and aimless in life. He’s not an idiot, but not knowing where to channel his energy he goes from job to job, eventually quitting in favor of drinking beer and chasing tail. When Poppy Bush complains that Junior will never make something of himself, W passes a government test, just to prove that he can. Following a spiritual reawakening though Bush eventually quits drinking (going non-alcoholic beer instead...someone please e-mail me an explain how this works), has a successful run as governor of Texas, and then becomes ruler of the free world.
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We see him go after Saddam not only as a preempted attack against a country he was led to believe had weapons of mass destruction, but also as a prize for his dad, who he believed lost the re-election because he failed to finish of Saddam. In fact, if we were to take this movie at face value, it looks like everything Bush did was to please his dad. I’m not sure if this is the case for the real Bush, but for a movie it makes for compelling drama. Bush and his brother get along great, but we can see a secret loathing for Jeb’s favorism from Poppy. He is so eager to pick up where his dad left off that his administration is almost completely identical to Poppy’s. He does love his country though. Is he ill-equipped to lead it? This movie argues that he is (as do recent poll results). But it also argues that he didn’t intend to.
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When discovered that there were no WMD’s in Iraq Bush is furious. We see him screaming at his administration, throwing things in a fit, and almost about to burst. The only comfort he seems to find later on in life is through his wife and God. Chances are you’ve made up your mind about this movie long before reading this review. I think this would be a mistake. To be fair to you readers I must point out this is not a perfect film. The acting is excellent for the most part (with Brolin and Cromwell standing out). Some of the actors, such as Thandie Newton playing Condoleezza Rice with a mouth problem, hinder the film. The movie also ends at an odd point, seeing as how the second term is not discussed.
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I guess the whole economy crash, even more troubled war, and administration walkout will have to be saved for the sequel. But what we do have is good. It truly is an honest, fair look at one of the most hated men in recent times. You almost feel sorry for him. The tagline for this movie is “A life misunderstood.” An even better tagline for this movie would be “A movie prematurely judged.”
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