I approached Charlie Wilson's War with some trepidation.
I had read American journalist and author George Crile's book about the American and Russian face-off in Afghanistan a couple of years back and couldn't quite work out how Hollywood would take the story of the enigmatic, misogynistic US senator from page to screen.
But then I heard that one of the finest writers of his generation was writing the screenplay and I knew I was in for a treat.
Aaron Sorkin is a genius. If nothing else, he is the creative mastermind behind one of the best TV creations ever - The West Wing.
Not only did Mr Sorkin create the long running, award winning American series, but he was also the mind behind the pen that created every single episode when the show was at its peak.
The fast talking, fast walking, witty TV show is set behind the scenes of the White House, with the dedicated staffers who keep the President informed and the country running. And if you like the West Wing, you'll like Charlie Wilson's War.
Charlie himself is played by Tom Hanks (fresh from his Da Vinci Code adventures), and he is joined by Philip Seymore Hoffman who perfectly plays unlikely CIA spy Gust Avrakotos, as well as Julia Roberts as the Houston socialite Joanne Herring.
As you would expect from Sorkin, the dialogue is seamless.
The story is difficult to believe, apart from the fact that, well errr, it's fact.
A lone Democratic Texan US senator really did take on the might of the USSR - and win!
It was Charlie who recognised that the deciding battle of the Cold War would be in Afghanistan and it was Charlie who ensured that the Mujaheddin were a modern armed and trained fighting force.
It's not everyday you get a politician like Charlie Wilson, and it is difficult to see his likes in our Parliament, but you know the Americans, everything is bigger, and better.
And the film doesn't shy away from the long-term, post Afghan war, effect of America's 1980s foreign policy, with references back to Afghanistan's connection to the 911 attacks and the fact that American trained Afghan fighters have now turned their guns on the US.
But in the pre-release run-up to Charlie Wilson's War, I read an interview where Sorkin said he had his own battle with director Mike Nichols over whether to include a final scene of Charlie drinking a Bourbon on his Washington balcony as a plane crashes into the Pentagon.
Nichols won, and I'm afraid the film is denied the ending it deserved.
That said, it's a great film, which has a great cast and one of the greatest writers of all time. What more can you ask for.
Charlie Wilson's War Trailer
- Post to:
del.icio.us
Digg
Newsvine
Nowpublic
Reddit
« Previous | Home | Next »