Plot In the early ‘80s, Congressman Charlie Wilson (Hanks) organised, with the help of a socialite (Roberts) and a CIA loose cannon (Hoffman), the covert US support of Afghani rebels fighting against the Soviets...
Review
Charlie Wilson’s War stands a better chance of success than any of the ‘current climate’ movies so far. Why? Well, unlike, say, Lions For Lambs, it’s a film in which its stars get to twinkle and, while it’s undoubtedly a politically-motivated film that compares America’s attitude towards Afghanistan during the Cold War to today’s snafu in Iraq, there’s not a soapbox in sight.
When we first meet Wilson, he’s naked in a hot tub with some Vegas strippers, a JD and Coke, and actual coke. Of course, this is how we imagine all politicians behave behind closed doors, but it’s still startling to see how openly debauched Wilson was. He’s a ladies’ man, a boozehound, human. But even while all this is happening, we glimpse the complexity that made Wilson an unlikely hero. The usual approach would be to have Wilson discover the error of his ways, before a big emotional moment when he realises the scope of the crisis in Afghanistan and, dammit, decides to do something about it! Real life, though, isn’t so conventional and so, in the opening scene, Wilson spies a news report about the Russian occupation from his perch in the hot tub, and is immediately inspired to act.
What follows is a breezy romp in which Wilson, with help from his lover Joanne Herring (Roberts), the sixth-richest woman in Texas, and CIA agent Gust Avrakotos (Hoffman), uses all his political nous to boost the funding of Afghani rebels, all without the Americans or the Russians finding out. In scenes where Wilson tries to broker a truce between Israeli and Egyptian agents, most notably one involving a belly dancer, you are reminded that Nichols directed one of the best comedies about the absurdity of war: Catch-22.
But it’s during the sparkling exchanges between the leads that the movie takes off. Hanks infuses Wilson with a bounce and charm we haven’t seen from him in years, while Roberts brings a regal air to the underwritten Herring. Still, if Hoffman doesn’t get Oscar-nominated for his turn as the tactless but tuned-in yin to Wilson’s yang, then someone should start a sub-committee to investigate. From his intro, where he smashes his superior’s office window in a rage, everything Hoffman says and does is a perfectly modulated hoot.
Given the subject, darkness inevitably lurks beneath the larks, and it’s here that Nichols loses his grasp of the movie’s tone, from a disconcerting sequence showing Russian gunships strafing an Afghani village to some jarring shots of a red-eyed Wilson alone in his apartment, struggling with his demons. Cutting from these to light comedy is a struggle even for this master.
Only towards the very end, when Wilson runs aground in the face of American indifference to finishing what it started by stabilising Afghanistan politically and socially — a failure which may well have led to the growth of Islamic extremism in the Middle East — does the movie successfully cross the line from wry comedy to rueful drama. The last shot of Wilson, in particular, beautifully illustrates the sharp regret of a man who can see the future and doesn’t like it one little bit.
Verdict Extremely enjoyable. Although it’s a little tonally unsure, whenever Hanks and Hoffman are on screen, any misgivings are forgiven.
I thought this was OK, but distinctly average, Hanks was good but a little bit under used, if it wasn't for Hoffmans performance there wouldn't be much point in seeing this, the whole film basically amounts to Wilson getting a shit load of funding for the Afghan resistance and the film then ends, theres a kind of suggestion that the Americans didn't follow things through after the Russians withdrawal but thats only very vaguely hinted at. I kind of wonder if this would ... Read More
An interesting insight in to the Americans involvement in the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan, Charlie Wilsons War begins somewhat pointlessly with Charlie Wilson (Hanks) receiving an award from the Clandestine Services for his part in helping Afghan rebels overcome their oppressors.
From there on we are introduced to the real Mr Wilson, a bit of a cad who likes to be in the company of gorgeous women as much as he likes his liquor. Inspired in to action by one said gorgeous woman (Rober... Read More
great script by aaron sorkin, but not quite pulled off by the actors, bar phillip seymour hoffman. tom hanks and julia roberts really didn't click and weren't quite right for it ... Read More
L: Wilbert
L: shinjikojima
A fun picture with a lot to like about it, but paper-thin. The problem is there's no real obstacles. Charlie wants money, he gets money. He want out of hot water with his philandering, he gets out. Whatever Charlie wants, Charlie gets. Doesn't make for great drama or depth of character. It feels like an extended episode of a TV show. It feels like Sorkin has been doing TV too long.
The best part of this film is Hoffman, steals every scene he's in as usua... Read More
An enjoyable comedy drama written by the master Aaron Sorkin with great performances by the three leads. But Charlie seems to get what he wants fairly easily, leading to a lack of real conflict or strife. Apart from that, it's a great movie. ... Read More
Hanks and Hoffman both good but the film struggles in many aspects. The Soviet gunships and steroetypical description was amateur whilst the film really loses its way replacing story with humour and suffers as a result. ... Read More
Classic
Excellent
Good
Fair
Tragic
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