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. Oliver Stone, in his patented style, brings the life and times of the President to the big screen.
One of the those films that you'd see mentioned on a 'Great Performances in Average Movies' list, 'W.' directed by prolific political filmmaker Oliver Stone ('JFK', 'Nixon') sees a brilliant, spot on performance by Josh Brolin as convicted war criminal and former U.S. President George W. Bush. But the film itself, though memorable, well paced and ambitious in its narrative approach, often falters and avoids many important aspects in Dubya's life (e.g. Christian Zionism, Israel, PNAC, neo-conservatism, Rothschild etc). Stone decides to tell the story in two halves; going back and forth in time between Bush's nepotistic ascension from drunken thug to political contender (1970-1994) and his terms in office as president (1999-08) coupled with the fallout of the regime's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Held together by a captivating central performance by Josh Brolin, who walks the fine line between character and caricature, 'W.' is tragedy played out as farce but owes more to the objective satire and Poioumena of works like 'Tristram Shandy' and 'Sartor Resartus', than it does to straight up parodies like 'That's My Bush' or 'The Madness of George Dubya'. Essentially a series of compelling vignettes replete with almost all of those deathless gaffes forever known as Bushisms: "...is our children learning?", "...they'll never misunderestimate me again..." etc. 'W.' is a tightly wound, navel gazing biopic as limited in its scope and vision as its eponymous subject and often hampered by the fact that the story isn't over yet.
The film also boasts a sterling supporting cast; all of whom are great actors but many of whom aren't quite right for their parts: James Cromwell is too stoic and sober for George H.W. Bush and only reminded me of the ex-president when he reacts badly after losing the 1992 election or appears in Jr's subconscious as a smarmy, disapproving authority figure. Ellen Burstyn is a casting choice Stone got right, for Burstyn plays cantankerous country bumpkin Barbara Bush to the hilt. Elizabeth Banks' performance is far too sympathetic to convey the robotic Stepford Wife that is Laura Bush. Jeffrey Wright is also saddled with a duff role as Colin Powell; Wright is far too cool and understated to play Powell, for the former secretary of defence was a little more than Yes Man who often played an Uncle Tom for his political masters. Donald Rumsfeld is also way off; Rumsfeld should be a craggy, nauseating bore with little to no human characteristics, whereas Scott Glenn is far too expressive and supple an actor to pull this off. Thandie Newton looks the part as Condelezza Rice; with a permanent Crayola red side smirk Newton gets Rice's mannerisms about right and does a fairly good impression. Stone's masterstroke however, is Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney; portrayed as a snide, conniving hunchback ripped straight out of 'Richard III'; Cheney is clearly the evil genius to Dubya's hubristic moron: Cleverly manipulating Bush to sign off a torture bill at breakfast before unveiling the U.S master plan for world domination at a cabinet meeting.
Stone's involving mise-en-scene works by filming certain events in the way that Bush would've perceived them to be, thereby heightening our reaction to the self-aggrandising stupidity of it all, for by playing it straight and earnest; Stone makes the characters look all the more ridiculous. A recurring motif gives us a glimpse into Dubya's mind, and his 'happy place': an empty baseball field where he always catches the ball, and its during our final visit to this site where Stone employs some straightforward symbolism to sum up his view on Dubya's legacy.
'W.' subtly highlights Bush's failures as both a leader and a human being by using a variety of interesting methods to build up a patchwork of ideas that don't quite work as a whole but make for a reasonable, well-observed biopic. Worth watching once.
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. Josh Brolin stars as George W. Bush in acclaimed director Oliver Stone's new biopic W.! Whether you love him or hate him, there is no question that America's 43rd President is one of the most controversial public figures in recent memory. W. will take viewers through the trials and tribulations of Bush's eventful life - and joining Brolin on the ride will be the fair Elisabeth Banks, Thandie Newton, Richard Dreyfuss, James Cromwell, Ellen Burstyn, Ioan Grufford and Scott Glenn. Actors Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, Ioan Gruffudd, Thandie Newton, Richard Dreyfuss, Scott Glenn, Ellen Burstyn, James Cromwell, Jeffrey Wright & Jesse Bradford Director Oliver Stone Certificate 15 years and over Year 2008 Languages English
Oliver Stone directs this dramatisation of the life and eight-year presidency of George W Bush. The film features an all-star cast playing the White House's most high-profile figures, with Josh Brolin as the president, Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush, Richard Dreyfuss as Vice President Dick Cheney, Jeffrey Wright as Secretary of State Colin Powell, Thandie Newton as Condoleezza Rice and James Cromwell as George Bush Senior. Like other Oliver Stone movies, it polarised opinion almost immediately on its release. While some have seen the film as a two-hour character assassination, others have complained that it is too sympathetic towards the president.
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