W.: Ein missverstandenes Leben

The last of Stone's "Presidential" trilogy after JFK (which was better) and Nixon (which wasn't), "W" relates the days of the USA's 43th President, George W Bush.

It came up as the heat about the subject's presidency was still felt, while opinions were still hot, and yet the movie is surprisingly subtle and empathic, walking a fine line between biopic and comedy. Also, it is neither an attack on the Bushes, or on the Republican party - what would have been expected from rather liberal Stone. In fact, Bush the father's sole term is even referenced as a time of sober wisdom and sound management. Despite Stone's haste, the film stands the test of time admirably.

Actors are absolutely remarkable and well-directed, everyone of them. Photography is expertly executed. Music is, however, of some curiosity, and its circus-like presence does a big part in lightening the tone. That odd tonal dysphoria makes the film quite hard to classify, and even for the interested, a second viewing might be necessary once the expectations are out of the way.

All in all, what we have here is a fine movie. If you are an American conservatives, or even someone who voted Bush in, I really don't think you'll be outraged by anything here, to the contrary, maybe, as Bush is made human beyond the drama/comedy of his administration. I heard Clinton personally gave Bush a copy of the movie, saying he'd like it.

W. Seems to have disappointed many of Oliver Stone's fans; actually the movie lacks the vehemence, the all-around attacks, the gloomy conspiratorial narrative of most of his documentary films.

Mr Stone might have thought all his usual arsenal was not needed in the case of George W. Bush Jr; in fact, an almost subdued if not moderate tone voice worked best - in my view - to call out the key traits of our hero: a mediocre man, actually a dumbass, an insecure kid turned into an obsessive man, a puppet manoeuvred by a bunch of dangerous acolytes.

Exposing reality as is was more than enough here, actually an over-dramatisation might have proved counterproductive.

I thought it was interesting to compare and contrast W. With Adam McKay's Vice; the very same facts, told from Cheney's perspective and with a totally different style but very consistent, offer a nice complement to W.

Oh, boy, a film about George W. Bush, could be the new "Forrest Gump", lol. My head still hurts, because I was just banging it on the wall after I watched this film, how in the heck did this man run our country for 8 years without burning it down? Now I understand why this film was released right before election time, now I work at a movie theater and everyone who came out of the theater said they felt bad for W. and a couple of my friends who I saw the film said they also felt bad for him... how about us?! OK, before I start banging my head up against the wall again, so Oliver Stone is the critical director who decided to take on this wonderful project. The film is actually well made, Josh Brolin does a decent job of portraying our constant dumbfounded president, the story is pretty sad when you think about all the pressures he must face on a daily basis.

Based on George W. Bush's life, we go from when he was just a crazy party animal in college. Dubbed as the black sheep of the family, that his brother would be more suited as president, facing constant criticism from his father George Bush, Sr. who was also our president for a short time. We explore W.'s life with his family, his presidency, the pressure he faces, and the Iraq war. We also go into his world of having to pull himself out of his rut with his family who constantly puts him down with a country who is not exactly proud of him as well.

W. is a good film, it's well acted and put together, however, my main complaint, but I think there is a reason why, is that Oliver completely skips the election controversy we faced in 2000 as well as 9/11 which I thought was an important subject to touch. But I have a feeling why he didn't bring it up is due to how hard those times were for him and wasn't exactly sure how to go at it. Over all this is a watchable movie, but for me, it is forgettable, I don't know if it will be considered a classic down the line, but I guess we'll find out if our future kids are watching it in their history classes and asking us "what were you on when you voted for this guy?".

6/10

A chronicle on the life and presidency of George W. Bush (Josh Brolin).

The worst thing about this film is the awful casting, with many people looking nothing like who they should be. Karl Rove looks like a doofus and Condoleeza Rice sounds worse than Fran Drescher. Some are pretty good, and at least you can usually tell who each person is supposed to be. But, my goodness, maybe the casting director needed more time.

The film is fun and enjoyable so long as you understand it is satire. Yes, Oliver Stone is a left-leaning guy, sometimes to an extreme. But this is obviously not meant to be a serious biopic, but more a look at the foibles of George W. Bush. Surprisingly, there are moments that really humanize the guy, and for that Stone deserves credit for pulling punches.

With his "in the moment" biopic "W." the normally volatile Oliver Stone wisely saves his judgments for history when hindsight will be 20/20. Achingly subdued and slightly satirical, Stone plays it straight and to the bone. Here he presents us with the early years of our current lame duck president, showing Dubya rushing a frat-house at Yale, meeting Laura at a barbecue, living in the shadow of his father and brother, his troubles holding down a job, his failed bid to become baseball commissioner, and his defining moment when he gives up drinking and becomes born-again. All of which leads us to his first term and the Iraq War quagmire, where Dubya honest-to-goodness truly believes "God" wanted him to become president and that Iraq did have those rascally WMD.

In the lead role, Josh Brolin is an endearingly bumble-headed Dubya, and Stone presents him as a simple-minded man with good intentions who has been crippled by his "daddy issues" and has surrounded himself with the most cynical, self-serving, and corrupt administration in modern American history. The supporting cast is a hoot, with highlights including Thandie Newton eliciting big laughs just with her facial expressions as a wicked and moronically faithful Condi Rice, Elizabeth Banks giving a winning portrayal of Laura Bush, and Richard Dreyfuss playing Cheney as the most insipid megalomaniac American politics has ever seen.

Stone accomplishes three major coups here that should surprise those who expected a one-sided liberal smear job. First, he humanizes George W. Bush. The director does this with savvy editing showing the back-story of why Dubya does the things he does (i.e. why he uses nicknames for everyone or why running three miles every day is so important to him), and then juxtaposing that with the inane decisions he has made as president. By utilizing actual transcripts from press conferences, news coverage, and meetings, Stone and scribe Stanley Weiser allow Bush and his administration to speak for themselves, and it's both comically cathartic and occasionally frightening to see it dramatized so well. Second, he redeems the presidency of George "Poppy" Bush (a somewhat miscast but still effective James Cromwell) by showing what a restrained and thoughtful Commander in Chief he was compared to his naive and too-eager-to-please son. Thirdly, he redeems the legacy of Colin Powell (a surprisingly good Jeffrey Wright), who is shown here as the only person in the administration with any hindsight or foresight, and the only sane voice who questioned the motives for entering Iraq, though he eventually caved in and played along. His "f-you" to Cheney towards the film's final act is priceless.

As the actual presidency still has a few months to go at the time of the film's release, Stone's biopic was never written a true ending, leaving us with a symbolic image of Dubya looking up to the sky in center field waiting to catch a ball that will never drop. It may be another twenty years before we can pass any accurate judgment on Dubya's legacy, and likewise, Stone's film will have to wait. It's going to be a long time before anyone catches all those balls George W. Bush's administration threw up in the air.