W.
Dear God,
Last weekend, I watched this movie by Oliver Stone – a portrayal of the 43rd President of the United States of America. In retrospect, I have been trying to answer the question – Is the movie good or bad?
I am not sure if rating the movie good or bad does any justice to an honest depiction of a man, a man of myriad shades, his life and times. It is not a work of fiction and hence rating it would mean taking sides. I mean here’s a man who was and will remain etched in our memories for a long time to come for some obvious reasons and some not so. Here’s a man we have all seen and heard from time to time for his eccentricities, his frequent faux pas with language and for all the hatred he garnered for himself over time.
W’s journey through reckless and irresponsible teens, his constant disagreements with Sr., his brash behavior, aimless life, indecisiveness etc is hardly a picture one would have of a man touted to be President.
The film moves back and forth in time throughout – W’s early days vis-à-vis the most significant chapter in his life and career. Some of the scenes leave you stunned, providing an insight into what W. actually endured.
Let’s start with one of the first scenes – his life at Yale. In a scene where seniors, as part of ragging require that rookies of Delta Kappa Epsilon earn their respect and credibility, W. demonstrates an outstanding knack of naming each member of the group along with their nicknames with total precision. Call it outstanding memory or his ability to impress easily, a trait that becomes a contrast later in life when he makes enemies with even more ease.
His attributes as an irresponsible, spoilt brat comes to light when he has nothing to do after graduating out of Yale. The movie showcases his tryst with destiny in local bars, squandering money, knocking up women and basically doing everything other than what his lineage stood for. Every time he gets into trouble, Congressman Sr. comes to his rescue. That is not to say that Sr. always favored him or that he was the pet at home. Sr.’s bias for Jeb (the younger Bush), his preference for Jeb running for office and his apparent dislike for W. leave W. completely under-confident, broken and shattered. This lingers for days to come right up to his tenure as President.
W’s fascination for baseball sees him co-own the Texas Rangers circa 1994. Not that he had any experience or “boastable” credentials, it was just fascination and an aim to do something in life and prove daddy wrong. The one striking feature of the movie is how he imagines himself in a baseball field as a player catching the ball on the boundary. He imagines the crowd applauding his effort. This happens every time he does well or is down in the dumps. This makes you want to empathize with his miserable state, makes you feel for him. This is what he craves for – attention.
Needless to mention, the movie also takes a view of what we thoroughly made fun of - Bushisms like “misunderestimate” (!!!!) or the significance he attaches in naming his initiative on Iran/Iraq/N. Korea (axes of evil) or his ignorant style of snubbing critics by “I am the President, I have the last word”. I was particularly stunned when in one of the scenes, W. is hosting a press conference and he points out to a journalist (assumedly, from the East) as a “Miss China”!!!!
So throughout the movie, we see a man who is confused and reckless, beaten down and under-confident, funny and ridiculous and yet successfully runs for two terms as the most powerful man in the world. The movie doesn’t at any point in time, take sides by criticizing his stand on Iraq; it does not take a unilateral view of the man who bought vitriol to millions in the world for his actions in the Middle East. It just portrays a man – one who was born with a silver spoon but carries its burden throughout his life.
I will not comment on the characters or their ability to portray a W., Colin Powell, Condoleeza or Sr. All I will say is that care has been taken to demonstrate a personality, his mannerisms and attributes. Take for instance, W’s habit of winking at his audience or transferring his body weight on one leg during conversations or his funny gait. Care has also been taken to portray the distinguished personality that Colin Powell is, his stoic and yet strong opposition to some of Bush and Co.’s policies like the stand on the “War on Terror”.
My verdict – No rating can measure up this absolutely profound and honest movie.
