FILM REVIEW: W
Article published: Saturday, January 10th 2009
Dir: Oliver Stone
W promises an account of one of the most controversial presidents in the history of the United States of America, brought to us by one of Americas most celebrated filmmakers. Surely Oliver Stone couldnt fail to deliver on such fertile ground?
It is clear that the film is pitched to a wide audience. Its documentary-style accuracy and maturity is laudable; but the lack of urgency or climax is lamentable. And while the film avoids a Michael Moore-style polemic, it nevertheless fails to deliver a moral verdict on the life and times of George W Bush.
The story is told largely in a conventional 3rd person narrative, with a chronology that starts part way through his first term in office. It then alternates between the Republican president’s early adulthood and the build up to and aftermath of the Iraq invasion. Interspersed throughout this are dream sequences and a recurring scene of W alone on the field of an empty baseball stadium – curiously his one true love, it would appear.
The film charts George Bush’s life from college we see early privilege turn into an adulthood plagued by repeated failures and alcoholism. This aberrant son is subject to the constant disappointment and scorn of his father, a man he admires yet whom he can never seem to please. The stern conservatism of parents George Snr. and Barbara provide some emotionally powerful scenes as W struggles with addiction and manages to blow every gilt-edged opportunity he is gifted.
Finding religion and gaining the approval of his father prove a turning point; and the ascendancy of Jr to power is as swift as it is remarkable. Yet while Stone exposes the nepotistic and dynastic nature of power and politics in America, he offers no biting comment.
Politically it gives an interesting insight into the workings of the Bush administration, exposing the personalities and tensions. A cynical Cheney pulls the strings and, with Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, batters down any opposition. And while Colin Powells integrity emerges intact, a timid Condoleeza Rice only shows her mettle when it is too late.
There is an inadvertent comicality throughout, the script neatly capturing many infamous Bushisms. All too often tongue-tied in embarrassing situations, Bush nevertheless retains a self-belief with the unerring faith of an imbecile.
Overall W offers only a mediocre and uninvolving look at a man who could turn out to be one of the most influential in modern times. Stone presents a buffoon driven by a crippling need to impress his father and only a nebulous sense of what is right. And it doing so, almost absolves him of any responsibility for his actions. We are left with a sympathetic portrait of a simple-hearted man whose terrible decisions only history can judge not us. Best leave it to the hands of time then; after all, Goebbels was a family man.
Mule went to the cinema at The Cornerhouse in Manchester. For more film listings and information on other events and exhibitions, go to www.cornerhouse.org or call 0161 228 7671
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