W.

I went to see the new Oliver Stone movie last night during a midnight screening. I already knew that Stone was not going to try and bash Bush too badly, which seemed fairly obvious from the initial trailers. Stone presented George W. Bush as a man who was a screw-up his whole life, a blight to the family tradition, somehow become the leader of the free world and fundamentally change the course of history (not in a good way, that's for sure). Stone presents Bush as a likable dude, which is pretty much the reason he appealed to those who voted for him (the whole, "guy to have a beer with" deal). In the film, Bush was the runt of the litter. Picked on by his family for not amounting to much, partying hard and getting rescued by his father's influential friends. Stone doesn't seem to be passing judgment on Bush for that, or even for the war, and everything else that came after his inauguration. Bush is presented as a victim of his circumstance, but not necessarily a passive passenger (if that makes sense). The true tragic actor in the White House farce was Colin Powell, according to Stone. Powell tried and failed to get the madmen at the White House to see sense (some obviously didn't want to and those had the President's ear). The film seems to play, in my opinion, as a tragic-comedy.

Josh Brolin gives another winning performance, this time as the title character. Has the mannerisms, speech and facial ticks of W. One thing I didn't really notice too much, probably because it became more evident AFTER the time portrayed in the film (2004), was Bush's annoying "chuckle" laugh. But, I digress... Brolin is certainly coming along as a fine actor, with a lot more to offer. I'm looking forward to his performance in Milk, opposite Sean Penn.

The supporting cast is downright outstanding. Jeffrey Wright plays Colin Powell in a very understated manner, but you can't help but feel his utter dismay at the way things seemed to be going around him. Thandie Newton completely disappears as Condi Rice. Scott Glenn plays Rumsfeld in all his smirking glory. Richard Dreyfuss steals it all as Dick Cheney. He gets the most chilling line of the film when after being asked what the exit strategy would be for Iraq by Colin Powell, he responds : "There is no exit."

All in all, not a perfect film, but a fine attempt by Oliver Stone. A bit of a departure for him. Nicely done.

W. Official Website

Edited because I can't spell...