LFF review: W.

W. is a curious piece that ultimately disappoints. Oliver Stone’s imagining of the life and times of George W Bush is simply not as critical as one might have expected or as the material demands – indeed it’s too even-handed.

W is cast as an unworthy son trying to earn his unforgiving father’s respect and trying to serve penance for his many sins. Stone picks up on W’s conversion to Christianity (off the back of AA meetings, natch) and ultimately the father and son relationship is presented as God and Moses.

While the film is revealing about what a black sheep W was, there is still so much of his journey from there to president that isn’t touched on.

The cast, generally, are superb, especially Josh Brolin, who is superb in the title role. The voice and the physical posturing are spot-on to the point you forget it’s an actor performing. James Cromwell is his usual effective self as George Bush Snr.

And while Stone is not critical enough of W, he’s quite happy to paint the joint chiefs of staff as venal, self-serving incompetents.

W. is a strange hybrid, an ‘imagined biopic’ of a world leader while technically still in power; the trailer presents the film as a comedy – however the only moments of humour in the film are those in the trailer, so it’s no satire. There’s also a sense of West Wing-lite going on too.

It was intriguing seeing this a few days after Religulous: W runs for president because God told him too (a moment so shocking, even W’s preacher is incredulous!).

Come back the hectoring, angry Ollie Stone: all is forgiven!
Score: 5