Tom Hanks Stars in an Intelligent Film Directed by Mike Nichols
Based on a true story, Charlie Wilson's War (2007) is a highly entertaining movie that gives us three colorful characters: playboy US Congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks), right-wing Houston socialite Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts) and scruffy CIA agent Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman in an Oscar-nominated performance). The smart script was written by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, A Few Good Men), and director Mike Nichols gave the film a brisk pace and kept the tone mostly light.
Despite the movie's sprightliness, it deals with serious issues. The conflict referred to in the title is the Soviet-Afghan War of the 1980s, but you don't need to know anything about that war to enjoy the movie: the filmmakers have cleverly woven enough exposition into the story to make a complicated situation remarkably clear. The movie isn't about combat; instead, it's the strange tale of how three idiosyncratic Americans teamed up to get weaponry to Afghan tribesmen. This is an upbeat character-driven film that celebrates individualism.
In Charlie Wilson's War, Tom Hanks is superb as the title character, a likable risk-taker who is an unabashed womanizer. Philip Seymour Hoffman gives a fine performance as maverick CIA agent Gust Avrakotos, who was sometimes described as a "blue-collar James Bond." Other cast standouts include Amy Adams and Ned Beatty, and Julia Roberts provides star power.
The movie was adapted from the late George Crile's best-selling 2003 nonfiction book. The filmmakers brilliantly captured the essence of the 500-page book in a movie that runs about an hour and a half.
Three Who Made a Difference
US Congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) is a liberal Democrat from Lufkin, Texas, who likes chasing women, drinking whiskey and occasionally using cocaine. But he gets into a sexual relationship with the politically conservative Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts), a good-looking Houston socialite who is the sixth wealthiest woman in Texas. She is passionate about taking action against the brutal Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and gets "Good-Time" Charlie involved in the cause.
Charlie is on a key congressional subcommittee where he can get funds appropriated for the Afghan resistance, but he doesn't know how to make effective use of the money. Then he meets Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the rough-around-the-edges son of Greek immigrants who is a veteran CIA agent, but lacks the polish to get along well with the agency's Ivy League elite. However, Gust has the expertise to advise Charlie in selecting the proper weapons to supply to the Afghan guerillas. The result of all this is ultimately an elaborate covert program that costs billions and involves Pakistan, Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
The film portrays Charlie, Joanne and Gust as strong personalities, but each of them is depicted as being seriously flawed. To battle the tyranny of Soviet Communism, they form an unlikely team for a while. However, history tells us their actions had unintended consequences, and they ended up leaving a mixed legacy. Nevertheless, the movie makes the case that the world is different because of what these three individuals accomplished.
A Making-Of and a Featurette on the Real-Life Charlie Wilson
The bonus materials on the Charlie Wilson's War DVD are skimpy and disappointing. There are only two extras with a total runtime of 29 minutes, and the better of the pair is the 12-minute "Who Is Charlie Wilson?" This gives you the opportunity of hearing from the real-life former Texas congressman, and there are also a few words from the real-life Joanne Herring. In addition, there are brief clips from the 60 Minutes television segment "Charlie Did It."
The DVD also contains the mostly dull and uninformative 17-minute "The Making of Charlie Wilson's War," which consists primarily of a series of interviews with actors, producers, screenwriter and director intercut with clips from the movie. There is no mention of the fact that part of the film was shot in Morocco.
DVD Details
Listed below are the details for the widescreen DVD containing Charlie Wilson's War.
Release Date: April 22, 2008
Feature Film Runtime: 1 hour 42 minutes
MPAA Rating: R for Strong Language, Nudity/Sexual Content and Some Drug Usage
Widescreen (1.85:1), Color
English Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
French Dolby Digital 5.1
English Captions for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Spanish Subtitles
French Subtitles
The Making of Charlie Wilson's War (17 min.)
Who Is Charlie Wilson? (12 min.)
