W. is about our 43rd president, George W. Bush. W. was directed by Oliver Stone, famous (or infamous) for his political films, namely JFK and Nixon. Stone is not known as an objective chronicler of people, as witnessed by this statement about Bush: “I think history is going to be very harsh on him. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t a good story.” That he is. Josh Brolin does an effective job of portraying Bush the younger, and many well-known actors stand out in their renditions of current politicos: Richard Dreyfuss as a slimy Vice-President Dick Cheney, Ellen Burstyn as a brash Barbara Bush, James Cromwell as an overbearing Bush Senior.
Stone is fairly harsh in portraying Bush’s early party-boy image, his lack of drive, and his struggles with alcohol. As the movie progresses, however, his treatment of George W. becomes more sympathetic. He presents Bush as sincere in his conversion to born-again Christian, and there’s a wonderful scene with a fictional pastor who warns Bush that “the Christian life is not a constant high.” The worldly Stone apparently considers it dangerous to have a “religious” person in charge of the government, but Bush’s faith somehow shines through, perhaps in spite of Stone’s political views. It’s worth your time and effort to go and see this movie, but take it with several grains of salt if you do. Warning: there’s plenty of bad language.
Film Rating: PG-13.
My Rating: 3 stars.
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