Oliver Stones W is a weird kettle of fish, it took me a few days after seeing it to get my head together about how I felt about it. My gut reaction was somewhat ambiguous and whenever I thought I had settled on an opinion it was countered by something else in the way the film played out. Stone is getting complex.
First and foremost the cast do an incredible job. Josh Brolin is fan-freakin’-tastic as Dubya himself - mannerisms and motivation are superb. Richard Dreyfuss is perfectly underhand and sinister as Cheney, Condoleezza Rice is played to a T by an almost unrecognizable Thandie Newton, I could go on and on, the casting features no obvious weak link.
I think what it was that confused my morals was the humanization of Bush, yes he is made out to be a giant buffoon, but also just as a man who has no real idea the impact of the **** ups he’s making - his entire motivation being gaining approval from his mean ol’ Dad.
The early part of the film delves (pretty deep it has to be said) into Dubya’s alcoholism and inability to well, do anything. I think this is the part that resonates the loudest, realising that once upon a time - with the exception of the silver spoon thing - he wasn’t all that different from anyone I know, a black sheep, not groomed for success. It’s the journey for patriarchal validation (helped along by a heart attack) that leads him to religion and his presidential quest.
As a biopic it’s pretty impressive, carefully choosing which life shaping events to present to the viewer. The soundtrack is a little clunky and obvious, and seems somewhat out of place in a film far less overplayed and sensational than I think any of us expected (really, the cartoon music as W goes about his day to day tasks - and the Robin Hood music as he gets his cabinet lost on his estate).
This movie isn’t super enjoyable (but then show me a political biopic that is) but it is super watchable, not overly long, pretty coherent, well acted and cleverly directed. It also made me feel slightly better about Oliver Stone and his film making abilities.