Blog

BY MAGGIE SCOTT

A huge banner festoons a cavernous hangar. It reads, “Charlie Did It.” Shades of the infamous “Mission Accomplished” sign instantly come to mind, and a premonitory shiver hits the viewer as he takes in the opening scene of director Mike Nichols’ biopic, “Charlie Wilson’s War.”

This brief shadow comes over what appears to be a moment of celebration for the acclaimed congressman and members and friends of the government’s “clandestine services.” What Charlie did and who Wilson was make for a fascinating film, particularly in the hands of Nichols, who is a cinematic whiz with themes of politics and personalities.

The time is 1980; and Charlie’s attention has been diverted from his typical hard partying, wheeling and dealing and bon vivant glad-handing of constituents and other legislators by the unfolding drama in Afghanistan. At first, his concern about the Soviet Union’s incursion into the country focuses on communist repression and possible control over oil lines.

Then, impassioned reporting (a youthful Dan Rather) about the need for U.S. weapons for freedom fighters inspires Charlie to ask for a doubling of that region’s covert operating funds. Considering the enormity of the defense budget, ten million dollars is a pittance. Helping Charlie see how inadequate is the amount, is Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts), a former Cotton Bowl Queen and the sixth wealthiest woman in Texas.

When she calls, Charlie drops just about everything…even a hot babe and a cold martini…to travel to her Houston mansion for a briefing on what she believes is a “fake war” in Afghanistan. Pushing the commies out could be the defeat that undermines the evil empire, according to Joanne and her hard-line hawk friends.

While they are consumed by the geo-political implications, the true human dimension of the conflict is burned into Charlie’s heart and mind when he visits Afghan refugee camps on Pakistan’s border. The suffering emboldens Charlie.

One of “Israel’s guys,” Charlie must call on all the cunning, persuasive power and charm at his command to help this beleaguered Muslim nation without alienating a major ally or triggering a major military conflict in the area.

Recognizing that he needs the CIA on board, Wilson consults the maverick agent Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and with Gust’s dazzling arm twisting, the Mujahedin will get the rockets it needs to destroy Russian helicopter gunships, tanks and armored troop carriers over the next seven years.

With some cautions and warnings only too painfully clear now as the west fights the descendants of those freedom fighters, Nichols wraps up this irony-tinged, blisteringly funny portrait of a politician who actually got something done and done for the right reasons.

Rated R for strong language, nudity/sexual content and some drug use.
.

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us