Oliver Stone’s unpolished but finely tuned biopic of Western Civilization’s most controversial leader is a straight-ahead dramatized biographical film that pedals between George W. Bush’s misspent youth and his days in public office.
Josh Brolin is exceptional in a deeply personal portrayal of an ultimately tragic figure.
Thandie Newton is spot-on as National Security Advisor Condi Rice, and James Cromwell give a multi-dimensional performance as George Bush Senior.
A bizarro musical score goes too far as a satirizing element, but the sheer inertia of Stone’s rigorous efforts to put a cinematic bow on the Bush Administration, compensates for the film’s sonic excesses.
Oliver Stone has made an independent workmanlike telling of the George W. Bush story that works to compartmentalize the man and his shriveling administration.
(Lionsgate) Rated PG-13. 131 mins.
