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DVD Corner: W.
By Greg Kaczynski |
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 We’ve all seen the events of W. play out before our eyes over the past eight years, and at this point, even though we’re under new, more thoughtful leadership, as a country, we are still paying for the foolish actions of the Bush administration. That alone makes this film difficult, and more than a little tiring, to watch. While it’s true that director Oliver Stone doesn’t rake former President George W. Bush (played brilliantly by Josh Brolin) over the coals in his presentation of W.’s journey from alcoholic screw-up to President, enough of the dirty facts are present to upset even the most level-headed viewer.
Stone tells the story through vignettes taking place in the early 2000s, post 9-11 Washington and flashbacks from the ’60s and ’70s full of whiskey and W.’s bumbling from one awkward situation to another. The earlier scenes paint Bush as a textbook case of an ADD child who never knows what he wants in life.
It’s clear that W.’s motivation comes from an unquenchable thirst to please his father (James Cromwell). Throughout his early adulthood, viewers see W. consistently disappointing his father through his binge drinking, getting arrested and blowing each and every opportunity his father passes on to him. Throughout all of his mistakes, he seems to have no grasp of what’s actually important to him; all that matters, it seems, is proving to his father that he can accomplish great things.
 W. is portrayed in the most fascinating, and I have to believe, truthful way. Again and again, viewers see that Bush rarely made any decisions of his own, constantly influenced by his AA reverend or his disappointed father, and later by Dick Cheney’s Wormtongue-esque presence, constantly whispering sweet nothings in his ear. Josh Brolin’s performance, while generating compassion for a man who has been tortured by high expectations and his own constant underachievement for his entire life, is a bitter pill to swallow as we watch this idiot savant desperately try to prove himself over and over again with our country’s reputation and well-being on the line. Even though we see that he’s actually trying to do the right thing, the results are often unintentionally and depressingly comical. His utter obliviousness to the plight of normal citizenry, or the soldiers he sends to battle, is baffling.
W. will not change any minds. If you don’t like the man, you’ll see the mindless idiot stumbling through his life; if you like the man, you’ll see a genuine man following his heart and his god to the actions he believed were best.
The performances are remarkable, the actors reflecting their real-world inspirations very well. Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld, Karl Rove, all of the architects of Bush’s first term and the now disastrous war of 2002 are all uncannily present.
 In the end, we have a fairly balanced portrait of our 43rd President. A man who had been handed every opportunity and had blown nearly every one, leading a life of confusion and disarray. Somehow, this man, seemingly only to prove to his father that he could, wills his way into the highest office of our country and struggles with the decisions then set before him. Stone neither mocks the man nor glorifies him, but gives us the skinny. He gives us the facts, how W. somehow made it to be President. Does it make for a great story? Not so much; we know not only how it ends, but also most of the anecdotes in the middle. Plus, Bush never really changes, just his behavior…and that only because he wanted to please the people in his life, not out of any personal growth.
The DVD package (Lionsgate, MSRP: $29.95) is a pretty standard affair, the most interesting bonus feature being the full-length commentary by Oliver Stone that describes not only the process of making the film, but also fills in a lot of the details that aren’t covered in the movie. Stone spends a good deal of time explaining where the scenes came from, the accuracy of the facts behind them and the sources and history behind the film. He maintains an even keel throughout; he’s not shy about expressing his political opinions, but he is very fair in discussing a lot of the controversies surrounding the man. Stone is a veritable book of knowledge of the history of the Bushes, and the anecdotes he shares are fascinating.
Stone also discusses the structure of the film, which is somewhat elusive. He explains the reason behind the placement of scenes, and how he sees the development of Bush through the movie. Overall, it’s a very well-done commentary full of tidbits of history and trivia.
 Also on tap is “Dangerous Dynasty: The Bush Presidency” (17:47), a documentary piece about the brazen military actions taken by both Bush junior and senior. It’s also about how, from Nixon on, the power of the Presidency has increased drastically to make the man phenomenally more powerful. Written and directed by Sean Stone, Oliver’s son, it is here that it is most clear how the Stones feel about the actions of the politicians in the movie.
There’s a theatrical trailer and a DVD-Rom feature which is a “filmmakers’ research annotations guide.” Basically, it’s a collection of all of the sources of the facts used in the film in a handy .pdf file.
W. is a must-buy for history buffs, I’ll give you that. The film is rich with information and anecdotes, and paints a fair picture of the man who ran our country for the last eight years. Brolin is really incredible, and many of the other performances are astoundingly accurate. For curiosity’s sake, a rental could certainly be considered for the rest of us.
W. is now available on DVD.
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