Review of W. (2008) by Haruka K — 22 Feb 2010

Another Presidential biopic by Stone, W naturally tells the story of one of Americas notorious presidents - George W. Bush. Although most would have taken the opportunity to portray W as the living demon the Muslems believe him to be, Stone has used his film to show what type of person George was before he even wanted to get involved into politics and the trials he goes through before he becomes the man that would eventually hunt down Saddam and declare war on most of Eurasia.

Josh Brolin pulls off a remarkable performance as the W himself, bringing forth a convincing portrayal of a young George who's only trying to find his way path in life as his father progresses from Governor to President. His performance shines the most with W as he was soon after the events of 9/11, where we see him use religion as his weapon and declares the enemies of America as the axis of evil. The supporting cast is impressive, featuring heavyweights like James Cromwell and Richard Dreyfuss to younger stars like Elizabeth Banks and Ioan Gruffudd, all of whom pull off their respective real life characters with admirable effort.

Seeing as the subject material of this film will be a subject of great controversy for years to come, I can't recommend this to everyone - nor can I say that Stone's representation of George W Bush is close to reality or wildly off the mark. Suffice to say that if you're not that sensitive about the politics surrounding Bush and his decisions as president, then you should probably give this film at least one viewing - if anything just to see the impressive performances put forth by all.