Charlie Wilson’s War

by Aaron Helfferich · Published January 13, 2007

For all those people calling Charlie Wilson the cause of our over-blown war on terror, they may have entirely missed the point of the film “Charlie Wilson’s War.” In the political film about the success of Charlie Wilson’s efforts the bring an end to the Soviet empire, there are underlying messages in this film’s historical story that hauntingly apply to today. With remarkably memorable performances by the top ensemble in Hollywood, “Charlie Wilson’s War” could be one of the more entertaining sophisticated films of 2007.

Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) is the flashy, womanizing, and fun-loving Texas congressman who seems to make more time for entertainment instead of business. With this free time, it came as a perfect opportunity for CIA agent Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to approach Wilson with a tactic to bring down the Soviet union. This tactic involved the funding for placement of weapons in the hands of the Mujahideen of Afghanistan so they can gain an edge on the world’s enemy. We know the outcome, but what we didn’t see coming was the efforts by the filmmakers to show the story more glamorously than we expected.

The fact that “Charlie Wilson’s War” stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts is the apparent draw to this film, but the real fascination here is the work done between Hanks and Hoffman. The two actors share dialogue that is fierce, voluble, and engrossingly humorous. Hanks might have created his character from a thick accent and a strong personality, but Hoffman embodies a character who is otherwise unknown to the target audience. Here, he becomes the source of the plot as well as the laughs. Hoffman undoubtedly brings out all the shining moments in not only Hanks, but the film itself.

Aside from its performances, “Charlie Wilson’s War” falls short of being an award winning film, but it’s unique to see a political film that’s handled like a comedy. Nevertheless, this film has a prominent message wrongfully discarded and ultimately redundant. It still rings true that “Charlie Wilson’s War” is blisteringly entertaining and overpoweringly humorous. Then again, most of that success is attributed to Philip Seymour Hoffman anyways.