Thanks for checking out our W review.
What can you say about the presidency of George W Bush? I’ve always been a little torn over the man. On the one hand you have a man who will most likely go down in history as the worst president this great country has ever had. But on the other hand, as much as I’ve disagreed with almost everything the guy ever did, I’ve often wondered out loud just how good or bad of a job I, or anyone else would have done given the same set of tragic and historical challenges he found thrust upon him (sometimes thrust upon himself). These were not an easy 8 years to be president and I think it’s important that people remember that when judging the man.
With that in mind I was fascinated when I heard that Oliver Stone was going to do a movie about George W Bush, to be released WHILE Bush was still in office. That’s ambitious. And no matter if you love or hate George W Bush, you’ve got to admit the man has lead one of the most interesting lives and seeing his story (at least from one perspective) interested me great. So off I went to see W last night… semi afraid that it would just be nothing but a character assassination movie… hoping to see a good narrative on this man’s life. I’ve got to tell you I was pleasantly surprised by what W delivered.
THE GENERAL IDEA
The synopsis for W looks something like this: “Josh Brolin stars as George W. Bush in this Oliver Stone biopic that traces the head of state’s rise to power from a privileged alcoholic to a born-again Christian whose belief in religious destiny helped move him to the top ranks of political power. Co-written by Stanley G. Weiser, Bush is produced by fellow Stone collaborators Moritz Borman and Jon Kilik, with Elizabeth Banks co-starring as the first lady, James Cromwell as the elder President Bush, Ellen Burstyn as Barbara Bush and Richard Dreyfuss as Vice President Dick Cheney. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide”
THE GOOD
The single greatest aspect of W, in my opinion, is that for the most part it looks at the man. The film spends no time at all on the controversy of the 2000 election. No time at all on the 2004 election. No real time on the patriot act, torture, wire tapping or basically any of the massive controversies of his presidency (other than Iraq). Instead it focused on the man. Who is he. Why does he function the way he does. What drives him. And on that level I think the film worked exceedingly well.
As the movie portrays him, George W Bush is not the monster that many like to perceive him as. Instead he’s just a flawed, normal human being. Most of the time 100% well intentioned. A man who loves his country. A man who grew up facing enormous pressure in the shadow of his family in general and his father specifically. A loving husband and all around genuine soul. Most people don’t want to think of George W Bush in any of those terms, but life often isn’t just black and white.
At the same time is also highlights several of the not so glowing sides of W. A man who probably had no business ever being president of the United States. Irresponsible for most of his life, average intelligence at best, hyper poor judgement who, as the film really portrays, surrounds himself with a circus of wrong people… and when he does have one or two good people around him (General Colin Powell) he rejects their counsel. Yes, always meaning well, but also always making the wrong decisions.
The “monster” of the movie really ends up being Dick Cheney. Cheney is portrayed as a power hungry, global empire-ist who sits like a devil on the shoulder of George W Bush and at times subtly manipulating him.
Josh Brolin was nothing short of remarkable as George W Bush. He had W down to a “t”. But more than that… it can not be understated how difficult it was to not only portray the president, but also to portray the humanity of the man when most people in the world just see the president as a side show joke… bumbling and incompetent at best… evil and a monster at worst. Brolin brought that humanity to W and without that, I’m just not sure the film would have worked at all.
THE BAD
Dear heavens. I’ve always believed that Thandie Newton is one of the worst actresses working in Hollywood today, but she topped even herself. easily the worst performance in the entire movie, her Condoleezza Rice felt more like a joke character on a Saturday Night Live skit. Every time that woman opened her mouth it pulled me out of the “reality” of the movie and made me painfully aware that I was just watching a movie. A movie filled with very solid performances… except one glaring awful one.
I was disappointed that the film never covered the resignation of Colin Powell. The film spends a lot of time showing us the position Powell was in, how he alone stood opposed to Dick, Rom, Condie triumvirate in the Bush inner circle and how at odds he was with them. And yet they never showed us the conclusion of that subplot. I found myself really wanting to see the final conversation between Bush and Powell and yet the film never delivered it which was unsatisfying to say the least.
OVERALL
To me, W is a balanced look at the life (as opposed to the politics) of the current president of the United States. I think most left wingers will be dissatisfied because they wanted to see a character assassination movie mocking Bush the whole way through. I think most right wingers will be dissatisfied because the film looks at some of Bush’s shortcomings. But for me, I thought it was a thoughtful, fairly balanced look at the very interesting life of a very interesting man… mistakes, flaws and all. Overall I give W a 7 out of 10.
