Charlie Wilson's War
Rated: R
There is no substitute for Aaron Sorkin. His writing is sharp, witty, insightful, and while no one talks like he writes, we wish that they did. And while some may fantasize about talking polar bears or a man with the powers of a spider, Sorkin grants us an achingly contemporary wish: honest politicians who have a genuine desire to make the world a better place and use of their charm and intellect to do so. He provided it to us with The West Wing and he does it to perhaps an even greater extent in Charlie Wilson's War. Perhaps that's because the events of Charlie Wilson's War really happened. Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) is a congressman blessed to live in the 1980s where there was no Internet or four 24-hour news networks to report on his spending time with drugs and strippers. He's not a dark or morally conflicted man but simply one who likes to have fun. He's also not a foolish man and when he learns of the mujahadeen fighting the Russians in Afghanistan, he sees a way to help by covertly supplying them with weapons. His resolve is only strengthened when he visits the war-ravaged country and realizes this isn't just some nebulous fight of Capitalism versus Communism but a war that's hurting innocent people. With the help of a powerful neo-conservative Texan (Julia Roberts) and a no-bullshit CIA agent (Philip Seymour Hoffman) he starts a chain of events that lead to the fall of the USSR (sorry for the spoiler). Of course, 9/11 hangs over the entire film and that's due not only to Sorkin's script but to the infinite skill of legendary director Mike Nichols. Nichols perfectly shoots Sorkin's dialogue while rarely aping the walk-and-talk style that frequently appeared in Sorkin's television shows. But even with our nation-changing event in the distance, the film is still incredibly enjoyable. The events have weight but that's not an impediment to the charm of Sorkin's script and the flawless delivery of Hanks and Hoffman. But what stops the film from being great instead of just good are the ending and Roberts' character. Roberts was probably a poor casting choice but her neo-conservative character needed more development as the neo-conservative agenda of establishing American democracy in the Middle East would help lend weight to the events of the film and the sparse ending. The ending in the film isn't the original, which was a little too on-the-nose about reminding us how these events help lead to September 11th, but it goes too far in the opposite direction as it rushes the timeline and seems content to leave us with an ending that's simply not worthy of the previous ninety minutes. For Sorkin fans, Charlie Wilson's War is still a must and like Sorkin's previous films, A Few Good Men and The American President, it's a highly enjoyable movie that proves you don't have to appeal to the lowest common denominator to engage everyone's hearts and minds. Words by |