Rating: Popcorn
Whether you love him or hate him, there is no question that George W. Bush is one of the most controversial public figures in recent memory. In an unprecedented undertaking, acclaimed director Oliver Stone is bringing the life of the 43rd President of the United States of America to the big screen as only he can. W. takes viewers through Bush’s eventful life — his struggles and triumphs, how he found both his wife and his faith, and of course the critical days leading up to Bush’s decision to invade Iraq.
Director Olive Stone says, “Regardless of your opinion of George W. Bush, the essence of the movie is to ask questions about the presidency, what happened and who the man is. How he got to be president is an amazing story unto itself. At first, he squandered his privileged circumstances. W. explores how he got it back and then what he does with it when he’s President.”
W. features a Hollywood cast which includes Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men) as George W. Bush; Academy Award-Nominee James Cromwell (Babe) as George Bush Sr.; Academy Award-Winning Ellen Burstyn (Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore) as Barbara Bush; Elizabeth Banks (Zack and Miri Make a Porno) as Laura Bush; Toby Jones (The Mist) as Karl Rove; Thandie Newton (RocknRolla) as Condoleezza Rice; Jeffrey Wright (Casino Royale) as Colin Powell; Scott Glen (The Silence of the Lamb) as Donald Rumsfeld; Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four) as Tony Blair; Oscar-winning Richard Dreyfuss (The Goodbye Girl) as Dick Cheney; and Jesse Bradford (Flags of Our Fathers) as Thatcher.
The opening scene of the film made the audience and myself laugh as the acting of the look-a-likes are reminiscent of the political skits from Saturday Night Live. Don’t get me wrong, there is some good acting in this film, to a certain extend. Just like Tina Fey can impersonate Vice-President candidate Sarah Palin, Josh Brolin looks, sounds and acts very similar to George W. Bush. Stone reveals that Brolin and Bush’s lives have many parallels as they have both journeyed through similar roller-coaster lives and both have grown up in small-town America.
James Cromwell, Ellen Burstyn, Elizabeth Banks, Toby Jones and Richard Dreyfuss all give great performances in their respective roles, but what really surprised me was Thandie Newton’s role as Condaleezza Rice. What happened to her? For the first hour and a half of the movie, Rice is present in the White House and Presidential meetings scenes, but never talks. In the last half hour, she starts opening her mouth and voicing opinions, however her voice is horrible! It’s like an SNL skit gone wrong! Newton plays Rice’s role as if she’s a robot from outer space. It does get the audience laughing yet it destroys the “truthfulness” of the film. I rarely see Condaleezza Rice on TV talking, but if she really talks this robotic in real life, then what’s she doing in the White House? I do have to give Thandie Newton credit for looking the part however, talking the part, that’s a different story!
W. gives us a different perspective of George W. Bush than what we see everyday in the media. Oliver Stone lets us see W.’s family life growing up and the relational struggle he has with his father. The film also shows Bush’s spiritual transformation which also changes his outer character. In the later part of the film, Stone focuses on W.’s road to the White House and his decision to invade Iraq. Throughout the whole film, George W. Bush is portrayed as a man with no back bone. He makes decisions after being sold by somebody else’s idea. He seldom decides on his own. One example of this is at the beginning of the movie when Dick Cheney is trying to sell him on the idea that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. At first, W. doesn’t really care about Iraq, but is eventually persuaded by Cheney to make a decision.
The film as a whole is well-researched. Director Oliver Stone is not an amateur when it comes to making films of political leaders. He has previously made films about President Nixon and President John F. Kennedy, but never while they were in office.
Is W. worth seeing in theatres? It absolutely is! Although Newton butchers her role as Condaleezza Rice, the rest of the cast either look and/or sound like their real-life characters. The film does provide some timely laughs, but not as much as I was expecting.
You can see President George W. Bush’s story unfold on the big screen in Maple Pictures’ W., which starts tonight in theatres everywhere. Please check your local listings for movie times.
Theatrical Release Date: October 17, 2008
2 Comments, Comment or Ping
Jean Brunet
What do you think about the timing of the film? Do you think Oliver Stone should have made this film while George W. Bush is still the President?
Oct 17th, 2008
patrick
Josh Brolin did a convincing Dubya, though he reminded me a lot of his cowboy character from No Country for Old Men… over all, i don’t doubt that ‘W.’ will have the effect Oliver Stone desired
Oct 24th, 2008
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