Review: W

Review: W

Rating: **1/2

Nonna's Rating: $$

Rotten Tomatoes: 58%

W. hits too close to the bone, I'm afraid. This narrative of Bush's life begins, ends, and is sprinkled in between with scenes of the President and his cabinet deliberating whether or not to invade Iraq. As Cheney, Rumsfeld, and, especially, Rove manipulate Bush and the situation, I found myself profoundly uncomfortable. Everything I've read about Bush's relationship with his staff indicates that these staff scenes portrayed the interplay of personalities fairly and as close to reality as is possible on film. It's not a pretty picture.

Everyone in the film does a fine job. Brolin suggests Bush more than he impersonates him. Nevertheless, he manages to pull off an uncanny resemblance, choosing to duplicate the Texas cadences of Bush's voice and his physical presence from the neck down. Richard Dreyfuss as Cheney and Tobey Jones as Rove deliver chillingly accurate performances. James Cromwell plays Daddy Bush, a stern, unemotional father who prefers son Jeb to ne'er-do-well George W.

Oliver Stone shows more restraint in this film than in many of other works. His portrayal of W. is so balanced many critics have commented that W. would probably be pleased with the way he's portrayed.

Nonna's Ratings:

$$$$ = Worth paying the Friday evening price
$$$= Worth paying the Matinee price
$$= Worth a rental
$ = Wait for cable
# = Skip it