Charlie Wilson's War (R-2007)

"Charlie Wilson's War" tells the story of Congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks), who became obsessed with helping Afghanistan when the Russians invaded in the 80s. With the assistance of a wealthy socialite (Julia Roberts) and a CIA operative (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Wilson is able to convince Congress to fund covert ops to arm the mujaheddin, who were in the front lines in Afghanistan. Hindsight being 20/20, this film easily could have condemned Wilson and his cronies for supporting what has now become one of our greatest enemies, but the film actually plays it very straight and keeps it in the context of its time. Wilson, who starts out as a scotch-swilling, womanizing good-old boy from Texas morphs into a man who truly cares about the people being displaced in Afghanistan and also realizes that their plight is a huge front in the Cold War. The film portrays him as a heroic figure, which fits the times he was operating in. Only at the very end does the movie hint at what the future may bring as Wilson wants to continue funding for rebuilding of schools and public buildings and is rebuffed because the job there is done. Hoffman's character tells him a great Zen master story to explain to him that you never quite know whether the results of your actions can be considered positive or negative when viewed against the prism of time. The movie takes what could have been a stale review of back-room politics and tells a very entertaining story. Hanks and Hoffman deliver their usual great performances. Roberts is fine, also, but in a much smaller part. Ned Beatty does a nice job as a Christian Senator who holds the keys to getting the funding and needs some convincing that this is a noble cause to back. This is an entertaining, very fair portrayal of what has turned out to be a crucial time in this country's history.

Grade: B+

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