W.

Last Friday I went to see Oliver Stone's W. at River East movie theater. The movie covered the first term of the George W. Bush administration and involved lots of flash backs to his earlier life. I left thinking it was O.K. but as I reflected a little more I really don't think it was a very good movie. I think I had two problems with the movie, the timing of the release and the portrayals of the men and women involved.

The timing problem for me wasn't that Stone seems to be obviously trying to influence the up coming election. My problem is that the release was too close to the actual events. It became a newsreel or documentary that had been dramatized and partially fictionized.

The second problem I had were bigger to me. I disagree with how Stone characterized certain characters and how he portrayed the motivation of many people.

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SPOLIER-ISH STUFF FOLLOWS
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C. Rice. She was barely more than eye candy on the screen. She was present in a lot of scenes that took place in the "present." Her portrayal came across as an unintelligent sychophant. She contributed almost nothing during scenes of policy discussions. The longest dialog she had in the movie was reading an Op-ed by Brent Scrowcroft to W. History may prove that she was nothing but a yes-woman in this administration but she is an intelligent woman and everything that I've read and heard implies that she's an active participant in the W. administration.

D. Rumsfeld. I can't remember his character saying more than 3 or 4 things in the movie and it was almost always along the lines of "known unknowns and unknown unknowns." Afterwards, Cheney and W. would look at him like he was crazy. At one point one of them suggests that Rumsfeld has lost it. Again, I don't think this is at all accurate to Rumsfelds character and roll in history. They do acknowledge that he stole reponsibilities from the State Department and the story ultimately is not about the Iraq War but his characterization is bogus to me.

D. Cheney. Simply as a man manipulating W. into doing what he wants. What he wants is for the U.S. to control the Middle East and the world oil supply.

G. W. H. Bush. A cold, unloving father that favors one son, Jeb, over another, W.

W. The movie is ultimately about what motivates George W. Bush to be what he is. And the answer is simple, he's a drunken frat boy that doesn't feel his father loves him enough because he doesn't live up to his father's expectations. He spends his adult life trying to live up to and surpass those expectations. He tries to be better than his father and the favored son, Jeb.

And ultimately, that's the entire movie. W. has an inferiority complex and takes the country to war to prove himself.