Charlie Wilsons War (2007)

"Philip Seymour Hoffman steals the movie.  Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun
"Rude, crude and hilarious...Hoffman is the film's sparking live wire.  Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"...[Hanks and Hoffman] have terrific chemistry and riff off one another like partners in a veteran comedy team.  Rick Kisonak, Film Threat
"...a sobering account of the geopolitical hijinks that gave shape to our current world.  Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian
"...[a] terrific tale of political wheeling and dealing.  Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com
"...a smart, sophisticated entertainment for grownups.  Todd McCarthy, Variety
"A witty, literate, wryly sophisticated parable of American politics...  William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Editor's Note The first time the audience sees Texas congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) in the early 1980s, he seems far from a model politician. Surrounded by strippers, a Playboy Playmate, and cocaine, the naked congressman lies in a hot tub at a party. Despite the distractions, the TV news catches Charlie's attention as Dan Rather reports from a war-torn Afghanistan. As Soviets invade the country, the Afghans lack the money and technology to defend themselves. Enter Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts), a wealthy Texan who champions the cause of Afghanistan and, by extension in the Cold War, America. Together with CIA Agent Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Charlie begins a secret war where he must unite Israel, Pakistan, Egypt, and America to defeat the Soviets. Just as director Mike Nichols brought a sense of fun to what should have been dour proceedings in films such as THE GRADUATE and CLOSER, this comedy about the largest covert war to date never feels like a history lesson. Writer Aaron Sorkin's dialogue is as sharp as fans have come to expect, and it's delivered with impressive verve from the film's trio of Oscar winners. Hoffman is famous for transforming into various characters, and he's remarkable, but it's Hanks's turn that's the most surprising. Outwardly, Charlie could resemble many of Hanks's previous roles, but the actor adds layers to the character and changes without the aid of makeup or prosthetics. Based on a true story as written by George Crile, the script for CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR displays all the trademark wit of Sorkin's writing. As in Sorkin's other work, notably THE WEST WING and THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT, the characters in CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR display a fierce love of their country. The screenwriter's own politics often rise to the surface, but this smart comedy never feels preachy.

	Amy Adams
	Emily Blunt
	Julia Roberts
	Ned Beatty
	Philip Seymour Hoffman
	Shiri Appleby
	Terry Bozeman
	Tom Hanks
	Aaron Sorkin - Screenplay
	Antonia Van Drimmelen - Editor
	George Crile - Based On Book By
	James Newton Howard - Original Music By
	John Bloom - Editor
	Maria-Teresa Barbasso, et. al. - Art Director
	Mike Nichols - Director
	Paul A. Levin - Executive Producer
	Stephen Goldblatt - Cinematographer
	Tom Hanks - Producer
	Victor Kempster - Production Designer

New York Times
"It's quite a yarn, and the filmmakers relate it with clarity and verve....[There is] a bracing, cheering present-day moral to be found in Charlie Wilson's story, a reminder that high principles are not incompatible with the pleasure principle." 12/21/2007

Entertainment Weekly
"[I]t's all about a likable scoundrel who discovers what it means to act out of conviction....A journalistic satire of realpolitik..." -- Grade: B 12/21/2007 p.56

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- " [Hoffman is] sly, bumptious and brilliant...He brings Gust such gusto that the energy level spikes whenever he's on screen." 01/01/2008 p.48

Rolling Stone
3 stars out of 4 -- "Hoffman is the film's sparkling live wire." 12/27/2007 p.123

Uncut
4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he tone is sophisticated and the handling is remarkably light and adept." 02/01/2008 p.109

Empire
4 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t's during the sparkling exchanges between the leads that the movie takes off. Hanks infuses Wilson with a bounce of charm we haven't seen from him in years.' 02/01/2008 p.42

Sight and Sound
"The material certainly works as satire. The dialogue -- trademark Sorkin -- is all quickfire and smart, with witty wordplay that harks back to the screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s." 03/01/2008 p.61

ReelViews 9 of 10
It's a curious thing. Whenever this much talent is assembled for a motion picture, the result inevitably seems to be a letdown. And to say that Charlie Wilson's War is topheavy with talent is to understate the matter. The cast features three Oscar winners and two nominees. The director has been nominated five times and won once. The writer is a multiple Emmy winner. The cinematographer has a couple of Oscar nominations and the composer has six. Almost against the odds, however, Charlie Wilson's War does not collapse under the weight of expectations. In fact, it meets them squarely without flinching. With its rapid pace, smart screenplay, and top-notch acting, this is one of the 2007 Oscar season's most appealing and compelling adult motion pictures...With so many movies working on auto-pilot, it's easy to forget the pleasure of a well-written screenplay, and even easier to forget how good things can be when a director of Mike Nichols' pedigree brings the script to life. The film has it all: suspense, drama, and humor...From start to finish, Charlie Wilson's War is an unrelieved delight, and it works even better for those who understand the bridges that took us from the withdrawal of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan to 9/11 and beyond. - James Berardinelli

Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
You might think Tom Hanks is miscast as the lovable sinner. Dennis Quaid, maybe, or Woody Harrelson. But Hanks brings something unique to the role: He plays a man spinning his wheels, bored with the girls and parties, looking for something to bring meaning to his slog through the federal bureaucracy. He and Gust (a perfect name) are well-matched. "Do you drink?" he asks the CIA man on their first meeting. "Oh, God, yes." Gust has been fighting for years to budge the CIA on Afghanistan, and now the right congressman falls into his hands...Nichols fills the edges of the screen with unforced humor. There are "Charlie's Angels," Wilson's office staff of buxom young women, all of them smart. There's Charlie's special assistant Bonnie, played by the lovable, fresh-faced Amy Adams ("Junebug," "Enchanted"), who cleans up after him, gives him good advice, keeps his schedule, and adores him. And there is the presence of Hoffman himself, a smoldering volcano of frustration and unspent knowledge. It's hard to see how Charlie could have ended the Cold War without him, and impossible to see how Gust and Bonnie could have ended it without him. The next time you hear about Reagan ending it, ask yourself if he ever heard of Charlie Wilson. - Roger Ebert