W. - [George W. Bush | Oliver Stone]
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W.
October 15, 2008
by Roger Ebert
★★★★[…]
The movie’s Bush is exasperating to work with. At his Texas ranch, he takes the inner circle on a march through the blazing sun, misses a turn and assures them it’s only a half-mile back. Cheney, after three heart attacks, and Rice, wearing inappropriate shoes, straggle along unhappily. His parents are apparently even more disturbed by his decision to run for governor of Texas than by his drinking. Cheney is lectured at a private lunch to remember who is president. He quietly forgets.
Many of the actors somewhat resemble the people they play. The best is Dreyfuss as Cheney, who is not so much a double as an embodiment. The film’s portrait of George Senior is sympathetic; it shows him giving Junior the cuff links that were “the only real thing” his own father, Sen. Prescott Bush, ever gave him. The name and the oedipal complex were passed down the family tree.
One might feel sorry for George W. at the end of this film, were it not for his legacy of a fraudulent war and a collapsed economy. The film portrays him as incompetent to be president, and shaped by the puppet masters Cheney and Rove to their own ends. If there is a saving grace, it may be that Bush will never fully realize how badly he did. How can he blame himself? He was only following God’s will.
Cast:
G.W. Bush - Josh Brolin
Laura - Elizabeth Banks
Barbara - Ellen Burstyn
George Sr. - James Cromwell
Dick Cheney - Richard Dreyfuss
Rumsfeld - Scott Glenn
Karl Rove - Toby Jones
Rev. Hudd - Stacy Keach
Powell - Jeffrey Wright
Rice - Thandie Newton