Charlie Wilson's War Review

Not only is the story engagingly and wonderfully told by Aaron Sorkin's (The West Wing, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) marvelous script and dialogue, but each of the acting performances are spot on from Tom Hanks's portrayal of Charlie Wilson, to Julia Roberts portrayal of the Christian and rabid anti-communist Houston socialite Joanne Herring to Philip Seymour Hoffman's cynical role as CIA agent Gust Avrakotos on the outs with his agency (this is another is a series of great roles Hoffman has been in this year.  See also The Savages and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead).

The plot briefly told is that Herring demands that Wilson use his positions on several House committees and subcommittees, along with the long list of favors he has built up, to provide the funding for the CIA to run a covert operation funneling money, weapons and supplies to the mujahideen in Afghanistan to enable them to continue to fight the Soviets.  After nearly 10 years of bitter guerilla combat against them, the Soviets finally withdrew from Afghanistan, with the final troops leaving on February 15, 1989.

The dialogue, the secret meetings, and the characters make this a movie to be seen more than once.  I am sure there are some historical liberties taken with the original book, but I believe the story's essence has been preserved.  However, it should be mentioned that the United States' lack of planning or funding for the aftermath of the Soviet withdrawal led to a power vacuum in Afghanistan that was filled by the Taliban, and eventually, to the problems with terrorism we now face.  This was very briefly dealt with in the film, but not in any real detail.  The movie wants to celebrate our winning the Cold War (which it does very well), and not the devastating and depressing consequences of our political inaction afterwards.  But that caveat aside, I highly recommend this film for its acting and sparkling dialogue.  I'd expect some Oscar nominations to come this film's way, and I would say that Sorkin's screenplay will be the leading candidate for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar (Other contenders are most likely to be Joel and Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men and Christopher Hampton for Atonement).