Charlie Wilson’s War
Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts
Runtime: 97 mins
Rating: * *
Charlie Wilson’s War is the latest offering from screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, better known recently for his work in television, having created the extremely successful West Wing, and the underrated Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. The film tells the true story of Texan senator Charles Wilson (Tom Hanks) who, during the 1980s, helped to fund covert arms deals in Afghanistan to aid the war against the Soviet army.
Julia Roberts plays wealthy Texan donor Joanne Herring, who convinces Wilson that something needs to be done about the Soviet advance into Afghanistan. After a harrowing trip to refugee camps in Pakistan, Wilson teams up with CIA operative Gust Avrakotos (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) to decide what can be done to best help the mujahideen. He earns a congressional award for his part in the collapse of the Soviet Union, increasing the budget for covert operations in Afghanistan from $5m to $1bn along the way.
Wilson is presented as a somewhat unattractive character, with a tendency towards womanising and a problem with the justice department over his cocaine use. At times it feels like this side of his personality is used as an excuse for the film to descend into puerile sexism. When questioned as to why the female staff in his office are so attractive, Wilson’s response is that “you can teach ‘em to type, but you can’t teach ‘em to grow tits.” The line gets a laugh and is part of the overall picture of Wilson’s character, but the characterisation does not justify the superfluous bikini shots of Roberts, nor the long tracking shot of Amy Adams’ buttocks as she walks through the halls of congress. For filmmakers to portray sexist characters is perfectly justifiable, but to treat serious female characters as sex objects, whilst simultaneously hoping the audience will take their role seriously, is absurd.
However, the major flaw with Charlie Wilson’s War is Sorkin’s script. The scope of characters in this film seems far beyond his reach as a writer, the slow southern drawl of Hanks and Roberts jarring with the fast-paced banter provided for them. When Pakistani government officals are speaking in their second language just like Josh from West Wing (quick, sharp and sarcastic as anyone) whilst on official business, you wonder if Sorkin can write anyone who doesn’t sound this way. Hoffman gives by far the best performance in the film, but is tellingly playing a character similar to those commonly seen in Sorkin’s more successful works.
Charlie Wilson’s War is by no means a terrible film. It has some entertaining comic sequences and some harrowing scenes set in the war-zone. But the interesting topic here, surely, is how funding the mujahideen for largely positive reasons prompted the beginnings of the war on terror. This topic was left until the dying minutes of the film, where it is summed-up in Wilson’s failed attempts to obtain funding for Afghan schools. The changing nature of America’s relationship with Afghanistan was left frustratingly underdeveloped. It would certainly have been much more stimulating than watching Tom Hanks chasing skirt.
