Movie Review - 'Charlie Wilson's War'

Charlie Wilson's War

Starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Philip Seymour Hoffman
Directed by Mike Nichols
Rated R

The movie is less interesting than the story, but Charlie Wilson’s War recreates a time in American history, not terribly long ago, that doesn’t seem remotely probable today. Beginning in 1980, Charlie Wilson, a U.S. Representative from Texas, mounted a campaign to funnel weapons and other assistance into Afghanistan to combat the Soviet invasion there.

Without knowing more, you might say, “How noble” or “What a patriot” or something. But there was more to this Congressman than just helping the Afghans get their country back. Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) was the hard drinking, hard living life of the party in Washington, better known for his dalliances than his diplomacy.

His mission was an equally peculiar one. Wilson sought the advice a rich Houston socialite (Julia Roberts) who actively politicked for Afghan freedom at her lavish parties, and he work closely with a brusque CIA man (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who looked and acted anything but a company man. Slowly, Wilson began increasing funds until his cause became the largest covert war ever fought by the United States and the Afghanis withstood Soviet oppression, forcing Moscow to withdraw troops for the only time during their communist regime.

All the talk leading into this film was the first-time collaboration between Hanks and Roberts, two of the most bankable stars ever, and legendary director Mike Nichols. The obligatory Golden Globe nominations for their performances notwithstanding, Hanks and Roberts aren’t up to their usual level. Hanks carts out the weak Foghorn Leghorn drawl he used to further muddy the Coen Brothers’ The Ladykillers, while Roberts misses a Southern accent completely – strange, since she was reared in Georgia – and the swooping blonde wig can’t cover it up.

It’s actually the outsiders who make Charlie Wilson’s War stand out. Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, creator and mastermind of The West Wing, has a fast-paced script that appears to outwork Mike Nichols’ pedestrian direction.

And in his first scene, Philip Seymour Hoffman screams obscenities at his CIA boss and shatters his window for effect. From that moment on, Charlie Wilson’s War becomes his movie. It’s not often Tom Hanks has a film stolen right out from under him, but Hoffman is at his volcanic best as the intelligence operator who has seen too much and whose patience is as threadbare as his out-of-date sport coats.

Regardless of Sorkin’s script, though, this film would just lay there on screen without Philip Seymour Hoffman. And he nearly saves it all on his own. Seems kind of appropriate, given the story the movie’s trying to tell.

Comments

[Ashley Smith]

I have seen this on HBO. Great movie.

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