Review of W. (2008) by Caleb M — 29 Apr 2011

W. illuminated a side of George W. Bush that was only spoken of in large whispers and seen on small smear programs but never was it actually shown in such a light and in such a large audience. Oliver Stone is well known for his biopics especially on figures and topics that are contriversial.

However I would argue that W. certainly contained information and carried a point of view that was very contriversial, especially when this subgect manner was introduced just as his presidency ended. I can't help but to wonder if this film was not a piece of propaganda used by the Bush administration to make George W.

look different (in a good way) to the public while he walked out of the white house. Of course thats not the case but the subject matte is so bluntly inconvinient for his cause that it's hard to believe it was made without one of his advisors watching over and providing information.

This film sheds George W. Bush as a lazy yet enduring, ignorant yet smart and deeply resolved, and paints him to be a person with many mental, marital, and parental issues. Rather than George W. himself, I feel as though the movie is more so a poignant picture of a father/son relationship in which the son could never get out of the fathers shadow, until one day he surpasses his father in every right and notion.

That story is interesting and that portion of the film was done very well. I believe the cast was picked perfectly and I can't picture any of the players (Rumsfield, Rice, Powell, Rover etc.) to be better cast and it's as if any other actor playing one of these characters would have ruined the potency of the film but Oliver Stone has always had a knack for casting and he hits a homerun with this casting call.

My favorite Josh Brolin film to date, although he has done better acting, his role as George W. Bush was essential in making this film feel authentic. But as I watch it a second time I start to wonder if Stone wasn't satirical in his direction because it's hard for me t take this seriously as a biopic and the humor (sometimes unintentional) takes over at times when it shouldn't.

There are a lot of small issues that make the film fail as a biopic, but where it fails as that, it succeeds as a good film in general. I enjoyed learning things I didn't know and it's nice to see ole' W.

in a rather intelligent and almost sad light, somthing that was never seen in his entire presidency unfortunatley. W. is an odd film, it defies itself at many points and the plot is wishy washy at best but the pure entertainment of it all cannot be denied.

Fiction or Fact W. is a remarkable film in many ways, and I am trusting that Oliver Stone meant it the way I see it. There will of course be a better and more defiant biopic of our 43rd president but rest assured it wont be as humorous or purley interesting and entertaining as this specific film was.