4/10/08

Bob's Big Screen

Films reveal secrets about love and war  

by Bob Connally

A small movie out on DVD on Tuesday makes a big point about love and trust, while a big-budget Hollywood film demonstrates that there are still lessons to be learned about war and its impacts.

Lars and the Real Girl
(PG-13, Avail. 4/15)

Lars (Ryan Gosling) is a likable but lonely young man. His brotherer Gus (“Assassination of ­Jesse James’s” Paul Schneider) and sister-in-law Karin (Emily Mortimer) care for him very much and have made an apartment for him in their garage. He’s well-liked at work and at church, but he just can’t seem to connect with anyone.

One morning a co-worker tells him about a website that sells inflatable, anatomically correct women. When Lars brings one home, convinced that she is a real person named Bianca, Gus and Karin are, of course, very worried about him.

The next day Dr. Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson) explains to Gus and Karin that it is essential for them to go along with Lars’s “delusion.” Lars takes Bianca in for regular check-ups which Dagmar conducts while finding out what’s going on with Lars.

No one seems to know exactly why Lars needs Bianca, but they do know that he needs them to accept her, and that’s enough.

In an early scene in which Lars is attending church, the pastor explains God’s most important command: to love each other. The town demonstrates that love fully for Lars, trying to help him in any way they can. It’s a refreshingly positive message in a time when too few movies offer one.

Screenwriter Nancy Oliver and director Craig Gillespie do a terrific job of making this story work, and they make sure that Lars is never the butt of the joke.

As Lars begins to open up about Bianca and himself, he gets closer to Margo (Kelli Garner), a co-worker with a crush on him. For the first time it seems he is ready to step into adulthood.
The premise for “Lars” could have either been the set-up for a one-joke and rather crass comedy, or it could have come across as utterly unbelievable.

“Lars and the Real Girl” is a very enjoyable and affecting film that works often when it seemingly shouldn’t. It only noticeably seemed to trip up once, but that’s a better batting average than most movies. It’s a film that you will ­enjoy very much as you watch it, and one that will grow on you after it’s done. 9/10.

Charlie Wilson’s War
(R, Avail. 4/22)

When we first meet Congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) he’s not speaking in the House of Representatives standing up for the little guy, nor is he visiting his beloved Texas Second Congressional district. He’s in a hot tub surrounded by strippers and drugs. Still, he does take his job seriously, and he takes special interest in a TV news story about Afghanistan’s war with the Soviet Union.

It’s 1980, the Soviets are still strong and the Afghans have no weapons. Wanting to do something to help, Wilson raises the budget for covert operations from $5 million to $10 million. After assessing the situations in Afghanistan and Pakistan for himself, however, Wilson knows something much more substantial must be done.

Wilson is a man of loose morals, but his openness and honesty about everything, including his exploits, show that he is also a man of character. He’s determined to help the covert ops team, led by Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman), by any means he can.

That he comes from “the only congressional district that doesn’t want anything” means he can do a lot of things that other congressmen couldn’t. This includes “getting to vote yes a lot” and appropriating more funds for a covert war.

He does this with the help of wealthy Texas socialite Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts), a staunch anti-communist, and key congressman Doc Long (Ned Beatty). Together they get much-needed weapons into the hands of the Afghans and play a key role in tearing down the Iron Curtain.

Based on a true story, “Charlie Wilson’s War” tells a tale of people who didn’t know what was to come in Afghanistan. Writer Aaron Sorkin (of “West Wing” and "Studio 60” fame) delivers an incredibly sharp screenplay with some of the best dialogue of 2007 (which is saying something). Along with director Mike Nichols (“The Graduate”), they keep things moving briskly along. The film is only 97 minutes, but it doesn’t feel too short. It could have been longer and it would have been fine, but Sorkin and Nichols say what they have to say, say it well, and get out. That kind of brevity is admirable.

A typically bland performance from Julia Roberts aside, this is an exceptionally well-cast film. Hanks delivers a terrific performance as Wilson— so good that I absolve him for his forgettable work in “The DaVinci Code.”

Amy Adams is also great as ­Wilson’s administrative assistant Bonnie Bach. Her performance (along with a brief appearance by Emily Blunt) remind us that there are plenty of talented actresses out there who offer much more than Roberts ever will.

But acting-wise this movie belongs to Philip Seymour Hoffman. His Avrakotos is a snarky, brilliant, and unlikely secret agent. Blessed with an ability to see through nonsense in all of its forms, he’s the one person in the film who sees disastrous potential in not finishing the job that they started in Afghanistan.

In an age when political movies hammer their points home with no subtlety or nuance, “Charlie Wilson’s War” is able to make a statement that is clear without being overbearing. A highly entertaining and enjoyable movie, there are a few truly chilling moments and reminders that when a commitment is made in the world, it must be followed through. 9/10.