I saw this movie the other night on TV (it was broadcasted on national television because of the end of George W Bush's presidency)
Frankly, I have never been a big fan of the person, politics and appearance of George W Bush and I actually didn't quite know what to expect. News? Validation? Shock? Truth?
Well, if at least ONE thing of the points mentioned above would have come true I would have been happy, unfortunately this movie confesses its hollowness right from the beginning. The biggest problem I had with it was that it never tried to "put the pieces together". Instead you are being left with bits and pieces of truth put together to a movie. If THIS was George W Bush's life, it was amazingly boring. And we know it wasn't. Oliver Stone should have known that the character W could only get as far and endure because of others: His father, Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, the neo-conservatives... They all do appear in the movie (and the cast is truly brilliant, let's be honest) but basically they are supernumeraries and contribute nothing essential to this story (except for his father) which is simply historically wrong. By trying to portray a neutral picture Oliver Stone (probably) got lost by the idea NOT to polarize. Unfortunately he chose a VERY fragile topic to do so. Trying to show a not very intelligent pompous dolt-marionette as a big global player just doesn't work, probably not even with a six-year-old kid.
Surprisingly after you have seen this movie you will ask: - Now WHO is this guy? (that I have been watching for over a 100min now) - WHY is this guy the way he is? - HOW did he get through with most of things he did?
These questions would actually forge the base of a biography but none of them are answered here. This film expects the viewer to KNOW the person whose story is being told. So what is this movie? I believe it's Oliver Stone's subtle and careful interpretation of a person that is simply not worth being portrayed. After all you are being left with nothing, so i honestly don't recommend this film at all. For a history lesson i recommend other sources. Watch FOX for the pro bush version, watch the rest of the global media for the other side, I recently saw "Being W" on the French/German channel ARTE and this actually entertained as well as it educated me.
Oliver Stone, I'm not sure where you want to go with this. But by being so careful (and non-polarizing) about it you ended up going nowhere. What's left is a hollow frame in which you could portray everybody's (average Joe's) life somehow entertainable. To apply this formula to a president of the United States of America is not very honorable... Or is exactly THIS your statement regarding the side you stand on?
Frankly, I have never been a big fan of the person, politics and appearance of George W Bush and I actually didn't quite know what to expect. News? Validation? Shock? Truth?
Well, if at least ONE thing of the points mentioned above would have come true I would have been happy, unfortunately this movie confesses its hollowness right from the beginning. The biggest problem I had with it was that it never tried to "put the pieces together". Instead you are being left with bits and pieces of truth put together to a movie. If THIS was George W Bush's life, it was amazingly boring. And we know it wasn't. Oliver Stone should have known that the character W could only get as far and endure because of others: His father, Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, the neo-conservatives... They all do appear in the movie (and the cast is truly brilliant, let's be honest) but basically they are supernumeraries and contribute nothing essential to this story (except for his father) which is simply historically wrong. By trying to portray a neutral picture Oliver Stone (probably) got lost by the idea NOT to polarize. Unfortunately he chose a VERY fragile topic to do so. Trying to show a not very intelligent pompous dolt-marionette as a big global player just doesn't work, probably not even with a six-year-old kid.
Surprisingly after you have seen this movie you will ask: - Now WHO is this guy? (that I have been watching for over a 100min now) - WHY is this guy the way he is? - HOW did he get through with most of things he did?
These questions would actually forge the base of a biography but none of them are answered here. This film expects the viewer to KNOW the person whose story is being told. So what is this movie? I believe it's Oliver Stone's subtle and careful interpretation of a person that is simply not worth being portrayed. After all you are being left with nothing, so i honestly don't recommend this film at all. For a history lesson i recommend other sources. Watch FOX for the pro bush version, watch the rest of the global media for the other side, I recently saw "Being W" on the French/German channel ARTE and this actually entertained as well as it educated me.
Oliver Stone, I'm not sure where you want to go with this. But by being so careful (and non-polarizing) about it you ended up going nowhere. What's left is a hollow frame in which you could portray everybody's (average Joe's) life somehow entertainable. To apply this formula to a president of the United States of America is not very honorable... Or is exactly THIS your statement regarding the side you stand on?