The screenwriter of Charlie Wilson’s War is Aaron Sorkin, the creator and primary writer of the four-time Emmy-winner for Best Drama Series, The West Wing. The West Wing, of course, was a popular TV show about the goings on of the presidential staff of Democrat Josiah Bartlet; a righteous group of patriots doing their best with the power they have on a weekly basis. In a bizarre kind of way Charlie Wilson’s War is sort of like the anti-West Wing, a tale of how the road to hell is paved with good intentions, especially when the people running the show are operating so far out of their comfort zone, they don’t realize when they’ve taken things too far.



Based on a book by George Crile, the movie tells of how a little known congressman from Texas was able to help launch a covert war against the Soviets by giving Afghan fighters the tools and training need to repel the Red Army and stop them from taking over Afghanistan. Wilson (Tom Hanks) takes his duties rather lightly until Texas socialite Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts) convinces him to look into the plight of the Afghans. Wilson begins collaborating with disgruntled CIA agent Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman) on getting the Afghans weapons and CIA training to fight back, nearly single-handedly changing history in the process.



Admittedly, I think that this is an important story and its very interesting watching it unfold, but I have to say that overall it seems woefully implausible as presented by Sorkin and Director Mike Nichols. The script is very comedic and while I don’t have to be convinced of the frequent ridiculousness of government, the material seemed to be treated with a degree of frivolousness that’s like a denial of the seriousness of their position and their situation.



Having said that though, the script is superb; it has all the usual Sorkin zing-a-zing dialogue and a well paced narrative that tells the story neatly with subtle subtext. The piece is also well acted, with the triumvirate of Hanks, Roberts and Hoffman doing exceptional work. Hoffman especially stands out as tired, old agency hack who has been the voice of reason one too many times to be reasonable anymore. He’s a guy looking for an outlet, a way to do all the things he wanted to do, but couldn’t get past the bureaucracy and red tape to be able to do it, and Charlie Wilson, unbelievably, becomes his in.



On another note, the film is surprisingly preach free, although it does have some hindsight foreshadowing. It’s interesting because of the almost incessant lecturing of Sorkin’s last effort Studio 60, which managed to turn a show about the behind the scenes going on of a comedy sketch show into a soapbox.



In War, there’s reference to the future that American inaction in Afghanistan might yield and did yield. But mostly this is a story and a warning about good intentions and a lesson about the follies of intervening in a situation you barely understand for reasons that really only benefit you. But Charlie Wilson’s War is essential history no matter how many jokes are filled into the script. But it’s wrapped up in an entertaining and insightful package so any inherent weaknesses in plot or plausibility can be overlooked for the benefit of spinning a good yarn.