Charlie Wilson was a Congressman who was better known for womanizing and partying than his legislative accomplishments. Then, pushed by the sixth richest woman in Texas Joanne Herring, he found his calling. Through committees he helped raise the CIA's budget to arm the rebels in Afghanistan fighting the soviets from $5 million to $1 billion. He may not be the most ethical politician, but he was very well connected. Based on facts, Mike Nichols new comedy could also be called "Strange Bedfellows" for Wilson will have to unite Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, Christian and Muslims and Israel with various Islamic states to get his secret war off the ground.
Tom Hanks, a seemingly unlikely actor to play a Representative who gets wrapped up in a cocaine scandal, adds the right dose of charm to Wilson, making us believe that he might just be the best person in government to pull off this scheme. He teams with the hotheaded and blunt CIA agent Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman, OWNING MAHONEY), who is working on the Afghan problem with three other guys when they first start. While Wilson works on his war, his chief assistant Bonnie Bach (Amy Adams, JUNEBUG) leads a team of beautiful young assistants on fighting the Congressman's publicity war. Because the whole deal rests on so many strange bedfellows getting along, Wilson has to warn Joanne (Julia Roberts, ERIN BROCKOVICH) not to frame the fight as a holy war. But the well-connected Herring does know when religion helps answer prayers.
Hanks is so droll and his partnership with Hoffman is one of the best comedy teams of the year. In a brilliantly constructed scene, Wilson has to juggle his first meeting with Avrakotos with working with Bonnie on an investigation into government officials' drug use. Hoffman is having a great year with scene stealing work in this film and BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD, along with his Golden Globe nominated work in THE SAVAGES. He seems destined for another Oscar nomination for his work here. Some bad word has been written about Roberts, but I found her performance good, but the character a bit underdeveloped. Nonetheless, she crafts Herring as an intelligent and highly principled woman who knows how to get what she wants. The always-good Adams is delightful as Wilson's dedicated right hand woman, who seems amused by Wilson's character flaws.
CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR stands as a perfect companion for his brilliant PRIMARY COLORS, which also looked at the morally ambiguous wheeling and dealing of politics. Where COLORS followed the election process, WAR follows how government really works. This isn't about ideology; this is about reality. Political dealings are complex and the results are never predictable. An action done with good intentions can result in an even worse consequence. The film meticulously details how Charlie Wilson got the funding for a covert war and ends with how he couldn't get funding for schools. The ironic ending adds a bitter note on American priorities and why we are in the current political climate.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
