Last night I went to see Oliver Stone's movie, "W." It was an odd little ensemble with a huge central fulcrum. It had the feel to it, almost, of improv, or of a small repertory play. Condi Rice, Rumsfeld, Tenet, Wolfowitz were all caricatures (the last, even with fake hair growing out of his ears). Thandie Newton looked just like Condi, but if Condi is really that weird, then I don't know how she attracted that cute Canadian foreign affairs minister Peter MacKay (not featured in the movie). Tony Blair was also hotter in the film than in real life, though, one imagines, the real Tony Blair must have been equally perplexed by the President's rationale for war in Iraq prior to the completion of weapons inspections. Jeffrey Wright as Colin Powell made me fervently wish the General had run for president in 2004, and it's pure fun to watch him tell Cheney to f off. Richard Dreyfuss and Elizabeth Banks were great as Cheney and Laura, as were Cromwell and Burstyn as George Herbert Walker and Barbara. But Josh Brolin was touched by the hand of God. I don't know if I've ever seen such an amazing performance by a person portraying a living, breathing political figure -- it was not comedic, it was not an impression, it was a masterpiece.
The picture itself really made me turn inward for a bit afterwards and examine my feelings. I truly loathed President Bush going in, but I actually came away feeling more sorry for him, not so much viewing him as evil or unbelievably stupid, but just appalled by his immaturity, ignorance and complete lack of self-awareness (and perhaps his failure to grasp multisyllabic English). Rove, Cheney, Rice, Wolfowitz -- these were the people I loathed at the end of things. Manipulative, egomaniacal, self-righteous and power-mad, they really made me glad that Mr McCain is unlikely to get the chance to be encouraged by any of them to bomb Iran (one of the main aims from the beginning of Cheney and Wolfie, if the film is to be believed -- and my understanding is that the script is based entirely on truth). It was fascinating to watch these people recreate speeches that I remember so clearly, or moments like the press conference in which the correspondent asked the president what mistakes he had made over his tenure and he couldn't think of a single thing. The most pressing question might have been why someone as smart as Laura would have fallen for GW, and Oliver Stone has no idea, either.
Aside from the story and the small acting parts lined up on the shelf like tchotchkes, the movie has not much to it. 'Arty,' in the sense that there are dream sequences in the ballpark and the lady sitting behind me didn't understand what she was looking at, the film is really pretty basic, with heavy themes and no subtleties. Then again, that's W, isn't it? If you're a political junkie, the kind who can enjoy The War Room, it's worth watching. If not, or if you're a loyalist, don't spend the money. Next up, Frost/Nixon, about the famous interview of Richard Nixon. Another for us politicos. Can't wait.
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