- (Josh Brolin, Richard Dreyfuss, Elizabeth Banks, James Cromwell, Ellen Burstyn, Scott Glenn) – The timing of this film is obvious: to capitalize on the attention to politics that this presidential election brings as well as the disapproval rate of the incumbent president, George W. Bush. In so many ways, the story of “43” is both compelling and tragic. It is too bad that the story is being told by Oliver Stone, the conspiracy storyteller of such movies as Nixon and JFK. Don’t get me wrong; he is a very fine director. Movies like Wall Street, Any Given Sunday, The Doors, and Platoonare exceptional. And so is W. If another filmmaker had directed this movie, it might even be considered an exceptional portrait of a privileged, if not very bright, kid who turned into a screw-up, turned his life around, and became president. It might even be hailed as a classic. But it was put together in a very short time by Stone and has attracted a number of well-known actors with a liberal bent.
In truth, Josh Brolin’s performance is amazing. He looks like Bush, masters his mannerisms, and manages to show the complexities of his character. Richard Dreyfuss is made to look so much like Dick Cheney that it’s eerie just as he brings his exceptional acting ability to the part. Elizabeth Banks is becoming one of the best young actresses around, playing serious parts (Seabiscuit), light drama (Invincible), and slapstick comedy (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Fred Claus, and the soon-to-be-released Zack and Miri Make a Porno). She is excellent as Laura Bush. The best character actor of his day, James Cromwell (who has an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Babe), is simply superb as “41,” George Herbert Walker Bush, known as Poppy to his son. This is a fine film even though Stone decides to do a little too much psychoanalysis and invent dream sequences. A final note: I am really getting tired of people who hate George W. Bush so much that they sneer and snicker at any unflattering portrayal or news clip of him. In credit to Stone, he is far more balanced than I would have expected and only wish more people would understand that the man didn’t fail because he was ill-meaning because he just wasn’t up to the task. See this film because it’s good, not because you expect to see the President vilified.