Regie:
Oliver StoneDrehbuch:
Stanley WeiserKamera:
Phedon PapamichaelMusik:
Paul CantelonBesetzung:
Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, Ellen Burstyn, James Cromwell, Richard Dreyfuss, Scott Glenn, Toby Jones, Stacy Keach, Bruce McGill, Wes Chatham (mehr)Inhalte(1)
George W. Bush wird als kontroversester Präsident der Vereinigten Staasten von Amerika in die Geschichte eingehen. Der zweifache Oscar®-Gewinner Oliver Stone ("Platoon", "JFK Tatort Dallas") hat W. schon jetzt ein filmisches Denkmal gesetzt. In seiner Studienzeit kann sich George Walker Bush nicht so recht entscheiden, was ihn mehr interessiert: Sind es Frauen oder doch eher Alkohol? Beides ist inakzeptabel für seinen Vater George, der politisch hoch hinaus will und seine maßlose Enttäuschung über den Lebenswandel seines Sprosses nicht verhehlen kann. Erst als W. die bildhübsche Laura kennenlernt, reißt er sich am Riemen. Er findet die Religion, sieht das Licht und schlägt den Karriereweg des übermächtigen Vaters ein. Vom Gouverneur von Texas ist es nur ein Katzensprung zum Amt des Präsidenten. Eine unvergleichliche Karriere, keine Frage. Aber als W. nach den Anschlägen vom 11. September in den Krieg zieht, um endlich aus dem Schatten des Vaters zu treten, hinterlässt er einen Scherbenhaufen. Wie konnte das alles nur so schrecklich schiefgehen? Ein überaus provokantes und jederzeit überraschendes Biopic mit Starbesetzung, das den Politiker sucht und den Menschen findet. Sehen Sie "W." pünktlich zur Amtseinführung von Barack Obama. Und sagen Sie George zum Abschied leise Servus ... (Ascot Elite Filmv.)
(mehr)Kritiken (7)
Das Werk von Oliver Stone kenne ich nicht besonders gut. Deshalb kann ich nicht sagen, ob W - Ein Missverstandenes Leben sein schlimmster oder sein bester Film ist. Oder ob es so wirkt, dass dieser Film gar nicht von ihm stammt. Für den einst mächtigsten Mann der Welt habe ich mich aber interessiert und ich interessiere mich für ihn immer noch. Deshalb habe ich mich auf diese zweistündige biografische Sonde gefreut. Ich muss sagen, dass Stone eine gute Arbeit geleistet hat. Bei der Auswahl der Darsteller*innen hat er eine glückliche Hand gehabt (Brolin ist wirklich ausgezeichnet, James Cromwell oder Richard "Cheney" Dreyfuss spielen auch richtig gut). Das Drehbuch hat aus dem Leben von "Dabelju" die interessantesten Momente herausgesucht. Die wurden dann im Stil "jeder soll selbst entscheiden" nebeneinandergelegt. Es gefällt mir, dass Stone kein Denkmal für Bush baut. Er bleibt unparteiisch, er verherrlicht ihn nicht und macht aus ihm kein politisches Hirn der USA. Im Gegenteil, W. ist ein texanischer Cowboy, der sich eine Zeit lang durchs Leben geschlagen hat, bevor er herausgefunden hat, worin er gut war. Er ist menschlich, macht Fehler, ab und zu weiß er etwas nicht ("Gefängnis Guantanamero"). Er ist aber auch in der Lage, hart seine Ziele zu verfolgen. Besonders dann, wenn es z. B. darum geht, Saddam in den Hintern zu treten. Der Film hat mir sehr gefallen, vier Sterne.
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From Fidel Castro's friend I was expecting a hateful political mumbo-jumbo, but to my surprise I got a naive piece of work, the script for which was perhaps written by failed first year political science students. At least Brolin, who perfectly nailed Bush's gesticulation, was excellent.
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I can't decide if Stone was glorifying or caricaturing Bush, but this biography is incredible. It deliberately avoids "breakthrough" moments (no direct confrontation with 9/11, just talking about it in the past tense), but instead emphasizes the main character who has to struggle with whatever life throws at him. The time when it was made makes it seem complex, but it will lose its relevance in a few years (and after a few other presidents). This also hurts the film in that, for (non)political reasons, no academics will celebrate it in any way, which is unfair at least to Josh Brolin, who is... just think of Bush's speeches (intonations, gestures, attitudes) and then watch the film. You will understand that Josh is simply brilliant! I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but I got something completely different. Stone doesn't provoke, Stone surprises. Cleverly! PS: In a few years, it will be forgotten and will barely get 3 stars, but right now it was entertaining as hell!
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The conscience of America speaks up again, but fortunately, treads very carefully this time. Oliver Stone has created a perfect compromise, not trying at all costs to portray Bush as an ordinary guy, nor turning him into an archvillain. There were plenty of others who have done that in the past decade. In this story, there are mistakes made, but not even a trace of personal antipathy is added to them. After all, the relationship with his father explains his ambitions while still staying within the factual boundaries. Thanks to this, W. turns out to be a perfectly serious study. And yet not the study of a famous personality, but of mass hatred.
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Many people expected that Oliver Stone and George Bush would settle things without scruples and that a political pamphlet would emerge rather than a biographical drama. For the American left, Bush's victory was a slap in the face. After all, let's admit seriously that it was on the edge of legitimacy and tested American institutions and society to the utmost. Strangely enough, Stone approached the material with the utmost seriousness and wanted to make a dignified drama. But, alas, screenwriter Stanley Weiser unfortunately didn't excel and the result was also marked by the fact that Bush Jr. simply wasn't a charismatic personality. Instead, he was in the right place at the right time, with his advisors from public relations doing the work for him. The only thing that stands out in the film is Josh Brolin's great performance in the lead role. That is clearly a five-star affair. Everything else is forgettable and, within Stone's filmography, this piece belongs to the least remarkable films. Overall impression: 45%.
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Given that I quite hated Bush, I liked W. almost too much. I can blame it on a) the excellent Josh Brolin who has Bush down to a T, portrays him perfectly, and on top of that, lends him incredible charisma, b) Oliver Stone, who took this biography in a very different direction than I expected and c), though it doesn't seem very likely to me, George W. Bush himself. I truly don't know. It's definitely a very well-shot biography (which is probably missing the most important chapter but that was obviously the intention) of a funny, confused guy who just wanted to step out of his father's shadow. Which he did, but unfortunately for him, in a negative way.
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Oliver Stone made a film that didn't harm anyone, except perhaps himself. Josh Brolin's excellent performance is one thing, but the film is actually about an ordinary person trying to come to terms with what is coming. I don't care that G.W. Bush is a normal, ordinary person. I don't understand the point of watching a two-hour film that tries to convince us that Bush is our man. If this was supposed to be satire and caricature of this man, Stone succeeded so well in hiding it that it ultimately became glorification and even justification of the Iraq War. Treating the omission of 9/11 as a suitable element in the film seems to me like a tool to avoid controversy, which this movie manages to do very well. It's incredibly flat.
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