Not Coming to a Theater Near You
What do you think she meant when she said “a huge black monster with giant claws”?
What do you think she meant when she said “a huge black monster with giant claws”?
I urge you to go see W. as soon as possible, because in all likelihood it’s never going to be as satisfying as it is right now. This has nothing to do with seeing it on a big screen (the movie is actually, for Oliver Stone, surprisingly visually unflashy). There are sure to be better, more subtle, more historically informed, and more savagely satirical treatments of the Bush Administration in the coming years, but W. has contemporaneity on its side. The movie is basically pure catharsis. To be fair, there’s probably something a little below the belt about offering a retrospective biopic of a President while he’s still in office, but Bush has suspended so many norms of executive power over the course of his administration that it seems only fair for Hollywood to respond in kind.
In W., Stone’s trademark broad-strokes historicizing works uncannily well, probably because it’s a story we all know so well by now. Basically the film telescopes three conventional narratives about Bush’s rise – Oedipal relationship with his father, manipulation by sinister neocons, synergy with Christian fundamentalism – and shies away from JFK-style conspiracy theorizing or, indeed, substantive political critique at all. (I’d wager W. would work as well for disillusioned former Bush supporters as it does for liberals, though I’ve yet to test this hypothesis.) What we’re here to see is the story of how we ended up with such a disastrously underqualified President in the first place, and W. delivers. Josh Brolin’s full-on channeling – and considerable amplification – of Dubya’s Texan charm helps the pill go down, and the supporting cast mostly strikes a good balance between impersonation and acting (only Thandie Newton as Condi Rice was a little too SNL for me). Jeffrey Wright’s levelheaded Colin Powell is the real hero of the film, so the timing of its release two days before Powell’s endorsement of Obama on Meet the Press just sweetens the deal.
Plus, best use of Richard Dreyfuss’ natural unctuousness since What About Bob?
by Evan Kindley | Source: 35 mm print
19 Oct 2008 12:52 PM | Comments (1)
Josh Brolin did a convincing Dubya, though he reminded me a lot of his cowboy character from No Country for Old Men… over all, i don’t doubt that ‘W.’ will have the effect Oliver Stone desired
movie fan
24 October 2008
4:26 PM
Website