Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Movie review: Charlie Wilson’s War

By Alex Bentley

Charlie Wilson's War

Charlie Wilson was a bachelor congressman from Texas who had a habit of showing up in hot tubs with strippers and cocaine. His "Good Time Charlie" exterior, however, masked an extraordinary mind, a deep sense of patriotism and a passion for the underdog, and in the early 1980s the underdog was Afghanistan-which had just been brutally invaded by the Russians. Charlie's longtime friend and patron and sometime lover was Joanne Herring, one of the wealthiest women in Texas and a virulent anti-communist. Believing the American response to the Russian invasion was anemic at best, she prods Charlie into doing more for the Mujahideen (Afghan freedom fighters). Charlie's partner in this uphill endeavor is CIA Agent Gust Avrakotos, a blue-collar operative in a company of Ivy League blue bloods. Together, the three of them-Charlie, Joanne and Gust-travel the world to form unlikely alliances among the Pakistanis, Israelis, Egyptians, arms dealers, law makers and a belly dancer.Their success was remarkable. Funding for covert operations against the Soviets went from $5 million to $1 billion annually. The Red Army retreated out of Afghanistan. When asked how a group of peasants was able to deliver such a decisive blow to the army of a superpower, Pakistani President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq responded simply, "Charlie did it."

Source: Cinema Source

• Showtimes and more on Charlie Wilson's War

For better or worse, this has been the year that Hollywood has decided to avow their discontent with the current Iraq war and the way the U.S. government is handling foreign policy in general. And for the most part, audiences have wanted no part of them. In the Valley of Elah, Rendition, and Lions for Lambs made about $30 million combined, with Elah, the best of them, inexcusably making less than $7 million total. The Kingdom fared a bit better, making just under $48 million, probably owing to the fact that it had considerably more action than those other dialogue-filled films.

So it may not have been the best idea for Universal Pictures to end the year with another dialogue-filled picture that obliquely (and not so obliquely) criticizes U.S. foreign policy. But it would be a shame for audiences to skip Charlie Wilson’s War, as it’s as close to a crowd-pleaser as this type of film can get without delving into mindless, blow-‘em-up mode (and yet, there’s even a little of that). Tom Hanks is Congressman Charlie Wilson, a little-known early-'80's era Texas representative. Through the good fortune of being a member of an influential House committee -- and a friend of a wealthy constituent, Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts) -- Wilson was able to appropriate massive amounts of money for a covert war to supply Afghanis with the means to fight back against invading Soviet forces.

Charlie Wilson’s War has several things working in its favor that help separate it from the films mentioned above. For one, it’s a historical film, dealing with issues that happened 20-30 years ago. One could view the film entirely in that context and enjoy it just as much, although you’d be missing the bigger point. It’s also a dramedy, i.e. drama filtered through comic situations/dialogue, a staple of writer Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men and TV’s The West Wing, among others). This mixture helps the deeper stuff go down smoother, but also acts as a cover-up of the somewhat-confusing geopolitical landscape circa 1980-88 – more on that in a second. And, of course, there’s the mere presence of Hanks and Roberts, who just happen to be two of the biggest movie stars on the planet. Both have juicy roles (even if Roberts’ screen time is much less than the ads lead you to believe) and both do nothing to disappoint those expecting their normal stellar work. Hanks is especially good, apparently relishing a role that allows him to indulge in all manner of drinking and womanizing while still maintaining his good guy image thanks his positive governmental work. Also excellent is Philip Seymour Hoffman as CIA agent Gust Avrakotos, whose droll give-and-take with Hanks provides the film with many of its best comedic moments.

Now there's a power duo if ever I've seen one.

The film’s biggest accomplishment may be in making the audience forget about many of the consequences of Wilson’s actions. The amount of money he is able to procure is staggering, even more so when it hits you that this may be the way the government really works. House representatives and senators just snap their fingers, and hundreds of millions of dollars (if not billions) go to their “causes.” Wilson’s was supposedly a “good” cause, but, of course, it’s not as simple as that. He helped to engineer the covert war as a means to prevent the Soviets from accessing the oil-rich Middle East. But in so doing, he (and a lazy U.S. government) also indirectly allowed the rise of the Taliban, something the film references. It would help (although it’s not entirely necessary) if one were to go into Charlie Wilson’s War with a passing knowledge of Middle Eastern geography and history. Sorkin’s patented rat-a-tat banter isn’t really enlightening about these things, so the full impact of the film’s plot may be lost on some audience members.

Not focusing on the finer details may be the point of the film, though. It’s fun to watch Wilson roll through life (especially in the form of Hanks), alcohol abuse and misogyny be damned. We want to see him succeed in his quest and not worry about how his actions affect others down the line. And most of all, it’s a lot easier to watch a film that builds up a member of the U.S. government as someone positive, as opposed to yet another one that shows their faults – even if it omits certain truths.

Related stories

• The real Charlie Wilson set to speak at TCU (Aug. 15, 2008)
• New on DVD: Cloverfield, Charlie Wilson’s War and One Missed Call (April 22, 2008)
• Academy releases Oscar noms (Jan. 22, 2008)

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• Arts > Movies / Film > Mainstream Movies