This year has been filled with dramas critical of the Bush administration's decisions since the attacks on 9/11. From the pain of soldiers' mental and emotional effects in "In the Valley of Elah" to the horrors of torture interrogation in "Rendition." In "Charlie Wilson's War," it chronicles the events that led to the rise of Islamic extremists who hate America and the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) is a charismatic, well respected yet little known Texas Congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives. He hasn't done anything drastic or groundbreaking in his multiple terms-except help citizens back home with small legal disputes, such as the ACLU filing suit for a nativity display in front of a fire station.
Then, while sitting in a hot tub with his Playboy girlfriend and a few other lovely ladies in a Las Vegas suite where everybody but him is sampling cocaine and other narcotics, he takes an interest in a TV news report by Dan Rather that shows Afghan rebels dying due to not being adequately trained and supplied while fighting off the Soviet army on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. "If they get weapons, they say they will win," Rather says. This ignites a fire under Wilson to aid.
Soon discovering from his aide Bonnie Bach (Amy Damas) that covert operations funding amounts to only five million dollars, Wilson has it doubled. Then, he calls upon one of Texas' wealthiest women, Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts), who has adamantly supported any aid to the Afghan people. Learning even more from her about the situation, Wilson is briefed by CIA operative Gust Avrakotos (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) that there are no strategies in place in Afghanistan but he and "three other guys" are working on some.
Wilson, on a Congress subcommittee that appropriates funds for covert operations (aka CIA funds), eventually gets funds amounting to 500 million dollars for the Afghan cause. It is after the fall of Berlin Wall and communism that the failure for Wilson to convince his colleagues that the U.S. needs to also help rebuild the country that leaves Afghanistan vulnerable, weakened and alone.
Director Mike Nichols, famed for work ranging from May-December romances in "The Graduate" to gay equality in "The Birdcage" to political drama in "Primary Colors," brings a George Crile book to the screen, thanks to the sharp dialogue from "West Wing" writer and creator Aaron Sorkin. There are some hollow, boring spots, but the words Sorkin created keep the intelligent script going. It's not as great as "A Few Good Men" or "The American President," but it's still good. Political movies are Sorkin's specialty.
Nichols is known for making films about causes and issues that are relevant but not well-known. Here, he makes this look like a pro-Bush film, insinuating to all the talk of pulling out of Iraq will be like all the other times we, as a country, failed in the end game: it will catch up to you. For those who don't know, one of those Afghan freedom fighters was named Osama bin Laden.
It is the cast, though, that helps bring to life the elected officials who are worth getting behind, ones who fight the good fight-and the fight worth fighting for. Hanks and Roberts are the premiere actors of their generation, acclaimed and viable.
Hanks brings his charm and comic wit to the womanizing Wilson and he fits comfortably into the role, as if he is straight from Texas. Roberts, to me, is not all that believable as a true woman of the Lone Star state. Her accent is not as well done as, say, Kelly Macdonald in "No Country for Old Men," but Roberts is the most bankable and popular actress around. And yet, she and Hanks seem to be going through the motions of a political movie.
Adams is the new actress of the hour ("Enchanted," anyone?) and is not in this film enough to do anything of note except put up with the constant whiskey drinking by Wilson.
Hoffman, on the other hand, owns this movie. He brings such dry, foul-mouthed sarcasm to a character who was known for exactly that. His gusto for Gust brings energy to an otherwise semi-stiff cast. He's not flamboyant, but Hoffman sure is talented.
"Charlie Wilson's War" is an enjoyable political dramedy that brings up serious topics that, while in our past, have caught up to us tenfold, and the final product may be flawed but is definitely worth fighting for.
|
Top Stories
92 Comments
