"Charlie Wilson's War" Theatrical Review (5/5) -Richard

If Joss Whedon is Jesus Christ, that makes Aaron Sorkin God.

Charlie Wilson's war is the Cold War, specifically on the Afghani front. A Democrat Representative out of Texas, Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks), is a womanizer, a drunk, and seems to enjoy partaking in a little cocaine now and then. At a fundraiser, Charlie is approached by a Texas conservative debutante Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts) and told that he needs to do something about the Godless commies that are trying to control Afghanistan if he wants to continue receiving her monetary support.

Meanwhile, CIA agent Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman) gets reprimanded in his boss's office and is assigned to the CIA's task force on Afghanistan.

Once the three meet up a plan is hatched to smuggle weapons through Israel and Saudi Arabia into Afghanistan to combat the Russian Communists. A 10 million dollar budget turns into 20, then 50, and keeps on growing until the Afghanis are sufficiently armed to deal with their aggressors.

Everyone knows how the Cold War turned out. Sorkin's adaptation of George Crile's journalistic book of the same name coupled with Mike Nichols' direction just helps us to see how we got there.

Sorkin is at his best when writing politically charged storylines. I enjoyed his television work with "Sports Night" and "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," but his best work in my eyes will always be "The West Wing." "Charlie Wilson's War" is a return to that style of storytelling. Mike Nichols at the helm helped raise the bar to a damn near perfect movie as well. He seems to be the only person that can make Julia Roberts act. He manages to take a mediocre actress and make her turn in an Oscar worthy performance.


Hanks also shines in the movie, taking the comedy from his earlier works such as "The 'burbs" and "Bachelor Party" and mixing it with the drama portrayed in "Philadelphia" and "The Green Mile" to create a perfect mix of character.

Other cast members turned in award worthy performances as well. Amy Adams as Charlie's assistant Bonnie Batch is one of the reasons she is rocketing to stardom this year. Ned Beatty is also great the little he is on screen as Representative Doc Long. Still, every performance in this movie, even Tom Hanks', is overshadowed by Philip Seymour Hoffman as Gust Avrakotos.

The last thing I had seen him in prior to this was his portrayal of the mild-mannered author Truman Capote. Hoffman pulled off a stunning, Oscar worthy performance in the movie. Seeing him switch gears to play the drunken, belligerent CIA agent Avrakotos was an amazing sight to see. From his entrance into his boss's office to his speech to Charlie at the end of the movie, Hoffman gives a perfect performance.


I know it is only January, but this may be one of the best movies of the year.

5 out of 5

-Richard