Movie Revew: Charlie Wilson’s War
Our Rating: 4 Stars
What’s Cool: The film’s three stars are fantastic. Tom Hanks plays Congressman Charlie Wilson, Philip Seymour Hoffman plays CIA operative Gust Avrakotos, and Julia Roberts plays socialite/activist Joanne Herring. Each actor turns in a great performance and gets the most out of Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay. Speaking of Sorkin, fans of West Wing and Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip will celebrate the return on his witty banter.
At face value, Charlie Wilson’s War is about a likable but lazy congressman who takes it upon himself to free Afghanistan from Soviet control in the 1980s. However, the film is much more than a history lesson. Charlie Wilson’s War demonstrates what can happen when the self-absorbed wake up to the plight of the world around them and take action. Through Wilson’s journey we see the importance, glory, and price of changing the world.
What’s Not: The film, like its protagonist, has a few character flaws. Charlie is a philanderer, we know that much from the trailer. But the camera comes close to objectifying women as much as Charlie does. For instance, Charlie’s office is staffed by a collection of bombshells (a more executive batch of Charlie’s Angels, as it were), and we simply laugh and think of him as a scoundrel. The camera, however, never misses an opportunity to linger a little too long on one of these bombshells, or ogle them via a slow zoom. At any rate, it seems as though Charlie’s indiscretions may have rubbed off on our director and his crew.
The Bottom Line: This film unfolds slowly, so action fans need not apply. Those who enjoy an intriguing slice of history, however, should get in line.
