To get away from robo-calls and the 100% coverage of the campaigns went out last night to see the recently released movie "W." directed by Oliver Stone. From Stone's reputation I was a little leary that the movie might not follow known facts too closely. But overall, I have to conclude that it conforms to most of what I have read about Bush and I rather suspect it may be a pretty accurate depiction. And anyway, it's an entertaining movie.
My first impression of any near-historic movie is whether the actors believably look and sound like the characters they portray. Josh Brolin is no visual dead-ringer for Bush and somewhat overcompensates by mimicking the mannerisms and speech patterns of Bush. He does this well. Overall he's a very believable Bush. The supporting actors all reasonably resemble the characters they portray. Thandie Newton as Rice and Richard Dreffus as Cheney are dead-on copies of those they portray. Rob Corddry as Ari Fleischer and Stacey Keach as Earl Hudd are even hard to identify as actors they so resemble their characters.
The movie alternates between two time tracks. One covers Bush from fraternity initiation to his decision to run for the Presidency. The other track covers the early decision to go to War with Iraq to, I guess, just before the 2004 election. The first track takes up too much of the movie and the second track not enough. Bush is not really portrayed as evil or sinister but rather as shallow, superficial, and basically in way over his head. If anything, the movie shows how "group think" and surrounding oneself by sycophants, rather than advisers, can turn into bad results.
Colin Powell, played by Jeffrey Wright, comes off as the only one giving Bush good advice, but at every turn he is out-gunned by Cheney/Rumsfeld.
There's things like Cheney's out-maneuvering Powell and Rice on the road to War that don't get well shown in the movie. In fact there's lots like how the whole cabinet ignored intelligence before 9/11 that is not covered. But it would have to be a series to get everything covered. There are scenes like Bush signing off on Cheney's torture proposal that don't get the coverage they deserve and some scenes like Bush and Rice with Tony Blair that don't really add to the story.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the movie is the relationship between Bush, i.e. "Junior" to "Poppy", George H.W. Bush. In fact Bush's neer'-do-well early life and his many unsuccessful attempts to gain his father's approval makes up the pathos that gives Bush a level of sympathy in the movie.
See the movie. You'll end up being more disgusted with Bush than hating him.