Review of Charlie Wilson's War (2007) by Filipeneto — 11 Jul 2021

An interesting film, in which the hypocrisy of politics is skillfully exploited.

This movie is difficult to assess. At first, it seems like a kind of satire on American politics, where an American congressman, in a totally improbable way, will play a decisive role in the development of one of the most important conflicts of the end of the 20th century: the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

In fact, Texan Charles Wilson is the most unlikely congressman for a situation that was both delicate and risky for the US: at the beginning of the film, we see him having fun with women, alcohol and drugs, and the way he looks be irresponsible, just another politician living off taxpayers. However, he will be able to handle the situation in Afghanistan and be the right man for the task, funding through the CIA the guerrillas who held the Russians back. In real life, he served in Congress between 1973 and 1997, and his actual contribution to the events reported here is, to say the least, debatable. However, the film was able to take advantage of George Crile's biographical book and make a good story out of that material, where Americans do what they have to do, look after their interests, regardless of what happens in the country of others. Yes, the chaos and human drama of the Afghans is just collateral damage and nothing more.

Tom Hanks is a very good master of the film and is excellent at the work ahead. It's not his best movie, and I think the actor is within a certain comfort zone here, without challenging himself too much, but it's a positive performance. Julia Roberts also did well, especially when she starred with Hanks. She hasn't been around much and seems to have had some bad luck along the way, but participating in this film was the actress's right choice. Seymour Hoffman had a sympathetic role in this film, playing the role of a sarcastic veteran spy, who becomes adorable in our eyes for the realistic and harsh way he looks at his surroundings. Even though I got famous with “Capote”, it's in this movie that I feel Hoffman really shows his worth.

Technically, the film is very good and has good production values, but it doesn't stand out, it lets the story and cast stand out. The cinematography is good and makes interesting use of a lot of old footage, and while the film isn't always happy about making us feel that this story takes place in the 80s (the sets and costumes sometimes seem undated), it will. being overtaken by the recurring mention of characters and events from that time. The soundtrack is good and plays its part discreetly.