W. is a strange little film. Throughout the first 15 minutes of the film, I was looking for clues as to the tone that Oliver Stone was trying to achieve, and am still confused as to 
where on the line between parody and earnest biopic the experience of this story is meant to reside. The opening cabinet scene is what strikes such an odd chord, because each actor seems to have a different goal in mind. As Condi Rice, Thandie Newton has dialed up the character ticks to such a degree that it seems like someone might break the fourth wall and shout “Live, from New York . . .” On the other hand, Jeffrey Wright, as Colin Powell, isn’t trying so hard. Wright is, of course, one of the best actors working today, in my opinion. He, Ellen Burstyn (as Barbara Bush) and Toby Jones (as Karl Rove) are all outstanding. Somewhere in the middle, in terms of tone and character, is the rest of the cast. As Bush Jr. and Sr., Josh Brolin and James Cromwell both exceed expectations.
I suppose just getting a cast together to recognizably represent characters so close to our consciousness is an achievement itself, but I wonder if Stone felt uncomfortable trying to be objective, and therefore left a few too many edges unpolished. I have to say I’m glad to have watched the film now, rather than during its release (when its subject was still in office), although even now there was a part of me that wished the film, like the Bush presidency, would just hurry up and end. Actually, if the film can be seen as a symbol for the Bush presidency, perhaps the uneven tone is a work of genius. One of the things that bothered me the most about our former leader (putting aside everything substantive) was that stupid smirk, making you wonder if even he wasn’t sure whether he was involved in a parody or actually a presidency. To that extent, and to maintain the parallels of my experience, I can say for certain that notwithstanding how history judges it, I do not ever want to watch the movie W. ever, ever again.
Here are this morning’s Oscar-nominated films, alphabetically. The nominees for foreign language film and documentary feature are compiled at the end of the list. (Short format nominees are listed in a 
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