I had the great misfortune of sitting thru "W" last night... for over 2 hours a discomfort not unlike the combination of anxiety and irritability I experienced the first few weeks after I quit smoking enveloped my being... at first it was subtle... but as each scene unfolded I found myself growing more disturbed, to the extent that I was downright angry by the time the end credits rolled.
This morning I'm flat out pissed off... and the more I think about "W", (the movie, not the jerk-off) the angrier I get...
It's difficult to determine based on media interviews exactly what Oliver Stone's point/purpose was in "crafting" this film... I've read that it's supposed to be historical, I've read that it's supposed to be a comedy, I've read that it's not meant to be taken literally... what I haven't read or heard is any indication as to why Mr. Stone chose to completely ignore such "minutia" as Abu Ghraib, transforming the Justice Department into a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Republican Party, Cheney's secret energy meetings, Halliburton, Blackwater/privatization, and the rampant cronyism (and attendant war-profiteering) that's been the hallmark of the Bush Administration.
Perhaps most troubling is how Mr. Stone chose to unquestionably portray Bush's "religious conversion" as sincere rather than politically expedient... aside from the brief scene where Poppy Bush rejects Dubya/Rove's admonitions to "reach out" to the Religious Right, there's nothing in the film that would indicate that Bush and Rove pandered to and utilized evangelicals to empower themselves.
From a film craft point of view, the picture was nicely done... Josh Brolin did a splendid job portraying a cartoonish figure as well... cartoonish... the fact that Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush appears not to age from her first scene to her last is somewhat troubling, but aside from that, the film craft is not a problem for me... however, if Mr. Stone intended any historical significance with this work, he's done a grave disservice to those who view it in the future without benefit of having had their own eyes and ears with which to inform themselves... the uninformed could easily come away from this movie with the false impression that George W. Bush was a well-meaning, deeply religious (albeit buffoonish) patriot whose entire motivation was rooted in the spread of democracy and the well-being of the United States of America... and for that, Oliver Stone should be ashamed of himself.