Charlie Wilson's War

Charlie Wilson's War

 

It doesn't happen very often, but occasionally one man can make a difference -- a big difference.

George Crile's 2003 best seller, CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR, is a fascinating and eye-opening account of the most unlikely "difference maker" imaginable. A relatively obscure Congressman from the Second District of Texas, "Good Time Charlie" was known more for his libertine lifestyle than his libertarian legislation. Likeable and licentious (even for a politician), Charlie Wilson served his constituency well since the good folks of Lufkin only really wanted two things, their guns and to be left alone. It's Easy Street replete with his bevy of beltway beauties known, appropriately enough, as Charlie's Angels.

When asked why his entire office staff was composed of attractive, young aides his response is a classic, "You can teach 'em to type, but you can't teach 'em to grow tits." No argument there.

But even the most rakish rapscallion has a conscience lurking somewhere underneath, and for Charlie Wilson the unimaginable atrocities being committed in Afghanistan moved him to muster his entire political savvy toward funding the utter, humiliating defeat of the Russian military and, possibly, to even help hasten the end of the Cold War as a result. Fat chance, huh?

Under the skillful direction of Mike Nichols and a smart, snappy screenplay by Adam Sorkin, CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR is a sparkling, sophisticated satire that chronicles the behind-the-scene machinations of three colorful charcters comprising "Charlie's Team."


The on-screen "Team," is composed of three marvelous actors with four (4) Academy Awards and nine (9) nominations between them. Charlie is beautifully portrayed by Tom Hanks in a solid, slightly understated fashion that is among his best work in years. He's aided, abetted and abedded by Joanne Herring, a wealthy Houston socialite played by the still-slinky Julia Roberts. Hey, why else have the bikini scene than to let the world know this? By all accounts Ms. Roberts looks good and holds her own, but the screenplay never gives us even a hint why Kabul and country is so important to her character. Maybe the two Afghan hounds usually by her side know -- but we as an audience never do. As for the third member of the "Team," Philip Seymour Hoffman steals every scene he appears in as Gust Aurakotos, a smart, street-wise (i.e. non Ivy League graduate) CIA malcontent who knows the score -- both in the Agency's boardroom and in Wilson's bedroom.


For the Mujahideen to succeed, the most important assistance the U.S. can provide is the ability to shoot down the dreaded MI-21 helicopter gunships which rule the skies. This takes money, lots of money, and eventually "Charlie's Team" covertly coerces those in Congress to fund the effort to the tune of $1 billion dollars for advanced weaponry to arm the Afghan rebels. This includes top-of-the-line, state-of-the-art anti-aircraft and anti-tank rockets as well as other highly sophisticated killing devices. Nasty, nasty stuff.

That this kind of multi-billion dollar illicit activity can and does take place behind Congressional doors is truly alarming. Every American should see this movie or read this book because it reveals a truly frightening aspect of the business-as-usual political scene rarely seen outside the walls of our very own government. Oh momma, I wish it weren't so...


Even though the initial outcome for "Team Charlie" was an unqualified success, the unimaginable, unanticipated final result is that these sophisticated weapons are now used against our troops by the Taliban and others. Since the funding was entirely "covert," the young generation in this part of the world has no idea the fall of Soviet oppression and the end to Russian barbarity was the direct result of American intervention. Yes, once the Russkies left, so did our aid -- zip for schools, zip for infrastructure, zip on maintaining meaningful relationships with the Afghan people. As a result, the overall consequence is an unmitigated disaster -- it's like the forerunner to "Mission Accomplished."

As Nichol's film so pointedly points out, "The ball you've set in motion can keep bouncing even after you've lost interest in it." Mike Krzyzewski knows this, Eva Longoria Parker knows this, little Lateesha in Lafayette knows this, but the typical American politician doesn't. So we go from good guys to bad guys because we couldn't let the world know we were the good guys. Talk about a Catch-22 (another Mike Nichols film).

Perhaps Charlie Wilson said it best, "We fucked up the end game."

Again.  

Robert A. Nowotny

Last updated: 2010-04-06 05:46:12 by user07

Charlie Wilson’s War

Shows what one man can do when he’s got the determination to do it. From an era when American foreign politics weren’t the bloody mess yet that they’ve become since.

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There IS no spoon!

Last updated: 2010-03-13 06:36:44 by McDozer

Charlie Wilson’s War

America doesn’t do satire. You can’t be raised on Disney and hate yourself. Comedy is fine. The Three Stooges are fine. Chris Rock is fine (as long as he’s not in a movie). But satire is comedy’s mutant half-brother. And you’ve gotta hate yourself a little to do satire. Hate yourself, and yet – allow only you to hate you. Satire is proud. Its self-loathing comes from a deep knowledge of self… It comes from Britain, the empire that lost. If the Brits had made Charlie Wilson’s War it would be about the Falklands – and it wouldn’t be half so much fun. It’s not that Charlie Wilson’s War is a bad movie, it’s just not the satire it wants to be. It’s a comedy; satire made nice.

In 1980 Congressman Charlie Wilson saw a news story about the war in Afghanistan and decided he wanted to help the Afghans. Spurred on by an ultra-right-wing socialite and a belligerent CIA veteran, Wilson funnelled money from the U.S. Covert Operations budget into a kind of Afghan weapons drive. He equipped the Mujahidden with surface-to-air missile launchers, and, before the decade was out, Afghanistan had routed the Red Army. Of course, once the war was over, Afghanistan fell into a decade-long civil war, followed by seven years as the world’s foremost terrorist camp. But the post-war bit is the reason you and I have never heard of Charlie Wilson. If his story had ended in the 80s (as the movie does) he’d be a hero.

Tom Hanks plays Charlie Wilson like the smartest guy at the Playboy mansion. This is latter-day, do-as-I-please Hanks. He’s long past his Biggest Movie Star in America phase, and he seems pleased not to have to embody the soul of a nation anymore. Forget Forrest Gump. Charlie Wilson is about as innocent as a dildo. He’s big on sex, drugs and alcohol, and he doesn’t mince his words either (Charlie on secretaries: “You can teach them to type, but you can’t teach them to grow tits.”). Hanks laps up the role. Whether he’s lying in a hot-tub with a bevy of strippers or groping Julia Robert’s ass as he exits a ballroom; he’s a happy lech.

Julia Roberts isn’t too bad. Her haughtiness makes sense in this role. As a Texas plutocrat with more connections than Kissinger, she has no need of her regulation “crying scene” to make us like her. She’s a bitch who loves Jesus. “Likable” isn’t in her lexicon. Fresh from retirement, Roberts looks damn good for 40, and she’s back with Mike “Closer” Nichols, her director-of-choice cum father-substitute, for whom she seems willing and eager to push herself. This isn’t an Erin Brockovich“damn it, I’m Acting here!” performance, but the role needed someone with Roberts’ pedigree to make you feel her influence.

Philip Seymour Hoffman (high off an Oscar and fully aware these are the salad days) plays a CIA vet like a CIA vet. The dark glasses, the gut, the wrought iron mustache… the man might as well walk on with a length of cheese-wire wrapped round someone’s throat, he’s that much the professional killer. Hoffman specializes in teary weirdos and fat angry nutcases. Gust Avrakotos is one of the latter. From the start he’s splashing f-words across his bosses’ office: bellicose, crazy, the sort of guy who must be right if he’s got license to act so dumb. There’s a bit of Gene Hackman in Hoffman’s best performances. Here he’s like “Popeye” Doyle reborn.

So Charlie Wilson’s War isn’t a satire. What of it? Why does it matter? I’m not about to say movies have a moral imperative, even movies that deal with real events. Movies are here to entertain, in general, andCharlie Wilson’s War does that fine. It’s just that… I don’t think it should be over-praised for that. When you make a perfectly acceptable comedy (There’s Something About Mary for instance) there’s a sort of in-built cap on praise, and so there should be. Charlie Wilson’s War isn’t a satire because it ends somewhere nice and safe. It could have viewed Charlie as a misguided fool, but that would be mean (both to Charlie and to us), so instead the movie cheers America. Satire would dictate you looked at the consequences of Charlie’s actions. Charlie Wilson’s War says “gee whiz!” and stops where America won.

CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR (2007)

BACK COVER SYNOPSIS: A stiff drink. A little mascara. A lot of nerve. Who said they couldn't bring down the Soviet Empire? Oscar winners Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump, Philadelphia), Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich, Closer) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote, The Savages) star in Charlie Wilson's War - the outrageous true story of how one congressman who loved a good time, one Houston socialite who loved a good cause and one CIA agent who loved a good fight conpsired to bring about the largest covert operation in history. From Academy Award winning director Mike Nichols (The Graduate) this critically acclaimed unbelievable true story is "slick and stylish entertainment" (The Telegraph).

FILM REVIEW: There's something quite remarkable about "Charlie Wilson's War"; it manages to portray an unknown political story from the 1980's about the biggest covert war in history that brought down the Soviet Empire not only with insight and intelligence, but with humour, wit and fun. The last attribute is most telling because the subject matter is anything but fun. By focusing the story around the real life congressman Charlie Wilson (played here brilliantly by Tom Hanks), director Mike Nichols crafts a film that on the one hand tells a fascinating story of political intrigue while making it light through Wilson's playboy lifestyle and loveable antics. It helps too that the cast is rounded out by a never better Julia Roberts and a tough-as-bolts Philip Seymour Hoffman who manages to steal several scenes with some razor-sharp, dead-pan dialogue (save his introductory scene where he gets quite angry; it's spectacular). This film is a triumph from start to finish, telling a great story and providing an insight in to history of which most of us would not have been aware.
The film starts with the ending; we see Charlie being awarded the "Honoured Colleague" from the defence force. We're told his achievement has outstripped any that have come before it, allowing him to be the first civilian to ever achieve this award. Yet, in his eyes, Charlie seems distant and sad; as if he's grateful for the award but aware that this isn't the end of the story. It's a tribute to Tom Hanks' acting ability that he conveys so much in this sequence, suggesting that although this is the end of the film, we know that there's more going on than meets the eye; it's not until the end that we realise why he looks like that. It's an unusual way to start the film but it's brilliant as we get the feeling that the victory may be bittersweet for Wilson and we want to know why.
We then move backwards to 1980 and we're introduced to Charlie while he's having a party with friends in Vegas. Befitting Charlie's playboy lifestyle, he's naked in a spa with two strippers, a playboy cover girl and a male friend who wants Charlie's help to get a Dallas-style TV series off the ground. This little escapade, as with many others, at first comes back to bite Charlie when questions of scandal and impropriety are raised back in Washington. But later on, it becomes the perfect cover for his instigation of a covert war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan; with the media so busy looking around in his personal life, they don't take him seriously enough to investigate his more weighty actions with the CIA and other nations in the Middle East. After being convinced by wealthy socialite Joanne Herring (a perfectly cast Julia Roberts) to visit the President of Pakistan, Charlie trundles off not taking it seriously, until the President makes it quite clear that they are dealing with a grave situation in Afghanistan and the United States is treating it like a joke but not providing enough funding in the war budget. At the insistence of the President, Charlie visits the refugee camps in Pakistan and is horrified but what he sees. He visits the US consulate in Pakistan to find out what the people need to help them fight the Soviets and gets a rather uninterested response from the CIA representative there. Charlie flies back to Washington to demand a meeting with the Director of the CIA, but instead meets Gust Avrakatos (Hoffman), an expert in Afghanistan who wants to kill communists but has been frustrated by not being given the support. It's music to his ears when Charlie tells him he wants to give him whatever he needs to make this happen, and together with Herring, the three mastermind a covert war which grows larger and larger with each passing year until it climaxes with the Soviet withdrawal in Afghanistan, and then subsequently the fall of the Soviet Empire.
The warning, and topical theme that comes from this movie is right at the end. Charlie, and the US, are successful in driving the Soviets out of Afghanistan without drawing attention to themselves. However, Gust warns Charlie that if they leave without educating the Afghans that it will become a breeding ground for terrorists and descend the country in to civil war, again. In a crucial scene, Charlie requests only a million dollars to set up a school in Afghanistan to educate the locals, but he's met with a negative response: "Who cares about a school in Afghanistan?" It is this short-sightedness that has had ramifications for the world in subsequent decades, and Gust's warning has become reality. Charlie sums up America's actions quite succinctly: "We go in, we give people hope, we succeed in driving away the enemies, and then we leave. But you know what? That ball keeps bouncing." This is the film's main message and its a very strong one; had the US heeded the warning signs then and not been so short-sighted, the world might be in a different place right now. Then, when we get to the climax which is a replay of the opening scene, we finally understand the look on Charlie's face when he's accepting the award. He knows they have to do more, and getting an award seems trivial by comparison.
The manner in which this story is told is much more positive and noble than what I was expecting; Charlie is actually doing this for a just cause. This motivation pulls you as an audience member straight in to his plight because you're keen to see exactly how he uses his wit and charm to manipulate people in to giving him what he needs to get this war off the ground. By far the best sequences in the movie are between Hanks and Hoffman as their characters discuss strategy. Charlie is the man with the money who wants to help, but he has no idea. Gust is the man with the ability, but needs the support. Together, they're a perfect match. And even though Charlie is funding Gust's enterprise, Gust is not afraid to stand up to Charlie to get what he wants, even if that means being crass and insulting to Middle Eastern world leaders, to fellow colleagues or even to Charlie himself if Gust feel he needs to make a point. As a result, you're watching real people deal with an insane situation which makes it all the more believable.
Tom Hanks is brilliant in this role; it might not be his best work but it's something of a surprise. We haven't seen him play this ethically-challenged playboy character before, but he does it with such charm and gusto that you wonder why he never did it before. Philip Seymour Hoffman steals the show as Gust Avrakatos. Starting with his stellar opening scene where he tells his boss to go f$%# himself for not giving him a posting he wanted, Hoffman delivers all of his dialogue in such an intelligent, fast and deadpan manner that he's totally engaging from start to finish. Julia Roberts does very well as the beautiful, intelligent and tough Houston socialite Joanne Herring who is the one who gets the ball rolling with Charlie. It's more of a supporting role as both Hanks and Hoffman take up most of the screen time but she makes her presence felt nonetheless.
"Charlie Wilson's War" is an intelligent piece of work that also manages to entertain. It might actually prompt you to find out more about this true story, but at the very least, it'll give you something to talk about.

TECHNICAL REVIEW: The video transfer is excellent, although there appears to be a hint of film grain running through the picture but that may have been the intention of the filmmakers. Not much to complain about though. The audio transfer is likewise excellent. Although the film is mostly dialogue-driven, there are some war scenes in Afghanistan that make use of the surrounds quite effectively, particularly with the engagements of the Soviet helicopters and the Afghan freedom fighters. Overall, an excellent transfer.

EXTRAS REVIEW: There are only two featurettes on this disc but they do give some great insights in to the film. The first is the obviously titled, "The Making of Charlie Wilson's War" which clocks in just under 20 minutes and is a nice featurette containing interesting cast and crew interviews, as well as behind the scenes footage and historical coverage. The second featurette is "Who Is Charlie Wilson?" and covers the real life congressman who brought about the events shown in the film. This featurette is about half the length of the first one but still manages to pack in quite a bit of information. Subtitles included are Arabic, Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish and English. A concise collection, but good nonetheless.

BOTTOM LINE: Worth having in the collection.

FILM RATING: 8/10 -- EXTRAS RATING: 6.5/10 -- OVERALL DVD RATING: 7.5/10 

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Todd Murphy <br />
http://www.allaboutmovies.net