Anyone who's listened to our podcast or knows me personally knows the venom I hold towards our current President, whom I affectionately refer to as the Preztard. I think he's been a complete and utter disaster in every possible way, and as such I take a special pleasure when those far more gifted comically and intellectually than me take their shots at him. I expected Oliver Stone's new film, "W" to be just that. Instead what I got was a fair, sympathetic portrayal of a man who is less buffoon than he is an egotist. And dammit if it wasn't a better film because of it.
Let's be fair, it would've been easy to make a film that served only to lend credence to those of us (approximately 80% of the country) who think the Prez has failed. It's much more difficult to create a solid piece of historical fiction that paints the subject in a way totally unknown to the vast majority of Americans. Josh Brolin plays Bush as a deeply conflicted man, simultaneously boastful and sheepish within the span of mere moments. Bush is shown mainly in his developmental years, beginning during his fratboy days in college, then post graduation his most awkward time as he moves from job to job with the support of H.W. Bush. Perhaps "support" is the wrong word, as the relationship between the elder Bush and his son is strained at best. W often swings between craving his father's respect to borderline hatred as he tries to prove his father's judgement inferior to his own. It's the dichotomy between these two that is both the driving force of this film but also of W's entire life. H.W.'s disappointment in constantly being forced to bail out his son from one crisis or another is prevalent in virtually every scene the two of them share.
Conversely, W is a man who constantly need his ego fed by the people who surround him. His friends early on mainly consisted of like minded individuals who aren't nearly as "successful" as he, and thus look up to him in some way. Never mind that at that stage of his life he hadn't actually accomplished anything. He was respected because of his lineage and wealth. The Bushes are like royalty in Texas, and W was treated as a prince. In a few years, those friends are replaced by a group of like-minded political advisers, led by Turd Blossom himself, Karl Rove. At this point, Bush is out of his depth. Rove becomes friends with the charismatic W and molds his campaign, giving Bush just enough power to feel as if he's in control. This would become a recurring theme, as Dick Cheney exerts the same influence over W. Bush comes across as a guy who didn't realize he was being duped. In a sense, that makes Bush look even more clownish because of the ease in which he was manipulated. This is our President, not just some guy off the street, right? But all along Bush is presented as a simple guy, with simple ideals, and a very simple mindset. It's hard to fault a guy for being used by experts, and at least in the context of this film it's easy to feel for the lug.
If anything, it's the people around Bush who come off as black hearted criminals. "Infamous"'s Toby Jones is spot on perfect as Bush's loyal sidekick, Karl Rove. Just like the real Turd Blossom he casts an eerie shadow over every scene he's in. Even when just sitting quietly in a crowded conference room you feel like he's calculating his next evil deed. He reminds me of the Cigarette Smoking Man of X-files fame. Richard Dreyfuss practically disappears into his role as Vice-President Dick Cheney. Cheney, the real mastermind behind Bush's presidency can barely contain his desire to be the man in charge himself. He holds no such compunctions about voicing his dislike for General Colin Powell, played effortlessly by Jeffrey wright, the loan voice of dissent in an administration slowly being taken over by warhawks. The scenes pitting Cheney against Powell are arguably the most compelling in the entire film, as the two former friends now turned bitter rivals spar verbally over ideology. Powell is probably given far too much credit considering his support almost directly led to the quagmire this country's currently involved in, but if there's anybody on Bush's staff who deserves to be forgiven it should be him.
Stone doesn't completely shy away from the more oafish antics Bush has committed during his administration, but he does present them in a different light. Bush's tendency to talk with his mouth full is ratcheted up to the nth degree here, as he always seems to be speaking while struggling with a peanut butter sandwich or a jaw full of hamburger. His infamous "Shame on you" quote is placed out of a speech and transplanted to a luncheon while surrounded by his entire Cabinet. It doesn't take away from the power of those moments one bit. In fact, I think it emphasizes them even more. The fact that Bush could talk to a foreign dignitary with his mouth full of food or so badly mutilate a common turn of phrase in an official Address means that he's probably twice as clumsy when in more relaxed settings.
The film is presented mainly through flashback in a disjointed manner that ultimately doesn't serve the main thrust of the story. On a few occasions it works out perfectly, showing Bush as a young man never quite understanding the gravity of his actions and cutting to the now President Bush and seeing that he STILL doesn't quite get it. Those few times it works perfectly. Other times it serves no purpose. But it doesn't really hurt the film in any way. Earlier I referred to this as a piece of historical fiction, and that's exactly what it is. Someone off the street who had never heard of George W. Bush could watch this film and get a reasonable impression of the man. Not enough to make a firm judgement on him, but enough to form the basis of one. For those who take a certain interest in the life of Bush, there are plenty of nods to less publicized facets of his life(his drug use, "military service", etc.) to appease them.
You'll be hard pressed to find a more adept group of acting talent during this or any other year. The last year has been a real eye-opener for me as to the acting talent of Josh Brolin, who seems to have really hit his stride lately. He's come a long way from the days when he was known simply as the older brother in The Goonies. His portrayal of Bush is nothing short of extraordinary. He doesn't sound or look like Bush, but he almost disappears into the role. After a few minutes I forgot I was watching a man playing the President. Richard Dreyfuss, Toby Jones, and Jeffrey Wright are great, also, as mentioned earlier. The same goes for James Cromwell's Bush, Sr. There's been a lot of talk about Thandie Newton's portrayal of Condoleeza Rice as stiff, wooden, almost Stepford-like. To them my question is simple: Have you ever SEEN Condoleeza Rice? She is stiff. She is wooden. She is Stepford-like.
So was I disappointed in that I didn't get the bash Bush fest I expected coming in? No, not at all. That can get tiring after awhile. What I got was much better. A straight forward take on a very straight man, even if he's headed straight towards a disaster. Oliver Stone decided to challenge us to think a bit differently about George W. Bush, and I was happy to take him up on his offer. Perhaps next he can try to wring a little sympathy out of the dry sponge that is Dick Cheney. Now THAT would be a real challenge.
7/10
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