W.

Does the depth of hatred from your enemies speak to the height of your success? This was the question I pondered after watching Oliver Stones biopic movie about President Bush, “W.”. Not only does Mr. Stone dissect the last 8 years of Bush's policies but also attempts to explain the context from which the President makes decision, namely a massive inferiority complex due to his fathers success used by both father and son as a weapon. This is demonstrated in nearly every scene the younger Bush fails to live up to his fathers expectations; quitting jobs, getting into fights, chasing girls, and a memorable seen that has W challenging his father to a fist fight.

The elder Bush is held up by the filmmaker as the epitome of a statesman while the younger is shown to be so diluted by his transgressions that his mother actually laughs when told he will run for Governor of Texas. The demonstrated expectation by Stone is that if true, the audience will find it to be another piece of anecdotal evidence that W was persona non grata, even within his own family. This was the first time Stone showed his intention to personally teer Mr. Bush down and build him back as a Frankenstein monster.

The single bright spot to this biased observer was Josh Brolins performance as W. His comic timing of Bush’s misstatements, witty banter with aides, and emotional exchanges with his father (referred to as “Poppy”) are impossible not to enjoy. Elizabeth Banks (Laura Bush), James Cromwell (George H. W. Bush), Richard Dreyfus (Dick Cheney), and Scott Glenn (Donald Rumsfeld) hold their own as well.

Finally, I would define true power as holding sway upon another person by simply being yourself. To inspire such a biting commentary while still occupying the Oval Office should be worn as a medal of honor by this Republican President. We should all be so lucky.