The Llama Ledger - Bard College at Simon's Rock's Student Newspaper

Issue date: 10/22/08 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Katie Ansel

Oliver Stone, the director of W., is no stranger to the political scene. After serving in Vietnam, he made his first film, Last Year in Viet Nam, about his experiences in combat. Since then, he has revisited war and politics in such films as Platoon (1986), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), JFK (1991), Heaven & Earth (1993), Nixon (1995), Persona Non Grata (2003), Looking for Fidel (2004), World Trade Center (2006), and now W..

But this is only one half of what he does; some of his other works include Conan the Barbarian (1982), The Doors (1991), U-Turn (1997), Any Given Sunday (1999), and Alexander (2004). For those who don't know, these movies are frequently eligible for both the 'worst movie ever' category and the 'biggest flops of all time'. These claims are not without merit, just watch them ... on second thought, just take my word for it.

But in case you're not convinced, just try thinking about Arnold Schwarzenegger shirtless for two hours as he roams the world fighting Doomsday cults. If this doesn't make you cringe, think of Val Kilmer playing Jim Morrison as he doses himself with various psychedelic drugs between flashbacks for two and a half hours. His flashbacks interrupt most of the movie, making it a historically inaccurate biopic filled to the brim with cinematic sewage. As you may be able to tell, I am not a huge fan.

As an amateur conspiracy theorist, JFK is probably the most interesting of Stone's films. He posits many theories, inaccurate at that, even for conspiracy theorists. Most of his research seems to be based on secondary, watered-down, hysterical sources which were the zeitgeist for the assassination. Because of this distortion, Stone's shots are not exactly sharp and need some work.

Although I am definitely a person who likes to see facts honored in film, I think that Stone's goal was to make money, which he does and did very well. The assassination is something which lends itself to intense questioning and conjecture, which Stone does manage to contain within his not necessarily truthful biopic.

More recently, Stone has tackled George W. Bush with less inaccuracies, and adds a more satirical edge to this highly controversial term.

Bush's presidency has been pock-marked by many monumental events, including September 11, the 'not'-war in Iraq, the list continues. Though these events are not seen as funny, one would assume that Stone would cover them; but there is scarce mention of them. Perhaps many people would not like to have seen them parodied, and rightly so.

The satire, which could easily be searing, turns out a little too cartoonish. Condoleeza Rice, played by the extraordinarily untalented Thandie Newton, recalls her roles in Chronicles of Riddick and Crash, two films definitely in my running for worst movies of all time.

The rest of the cast, with the exception of Colin Powell, who is played by Jeffrey Wright, exceeds the limit for caricature. Dick Cheney, played by the more than admirable Richard Dreyfuss, occasionally dons the image of the late Heath Ledger's Joker, complete with sinister scowl and menacing lip movements. If anything in the Batman universe, Cheney is the Penguin. Perhaps Stone needs to do his research.

Stone's research has proved, to him, that W. is not anti-Bush. It is the story of a fortunate man caught in a very unfortunate position. As the scion of one of the country's ruling classes, Bush is the heir to the helm of America's puppet master. His ill-fated spirit emerges in the conniving and edging on evil administrators of his cabinet, namely Rove and Cheney. Though Stone starts to scratch the surface, it is my belief that going further would uncover what is really going on in this tumultuous time.

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Contact the author: pmckeown@llamaledger.com

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