You'd think a movie about arguably the most infamous President of the United States, George W. Bush, would be a little more heavy-handed and critical, especially in the hands of one of the more controversial American directors, Oliver Stone, but W. is more of a balanced, honest portrayal of a misunderstood man.

The movie's tagline, "A life misunderestimated"—a tongue-in-cheek reference to one of the President's many infamous word-fumbles—actually conveys the overall feel of the film. The journey of George W. Bush toward being the 43rd U.S. President is certainly an improbable, although very real, journey. And perhaps, in spite of his personal and professional failures of his past, his journey was certainly misunderestimated.

Although it lacks the depth of a strong biopic, this tale of a silver-spoon black sheep of the Bush family legacy delivers a sympathetic, humanizing portrait. Stone allows W's life to simply unfold through flashbacks of his wild college days, his constant attempts to prove himself to his disapproving father, George Bush Sr. (James Cromwell), his failed business ventures, his political endeavors, and ultimately his climb to being President. This is set as the build-up toward the moments in the White House War Room where decisions are made regarding the U.S.'s involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the pursuit of Saddam Hussein.

Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men) portrays Bush as an intriguing, very human character, adding some meat to the skeleton-like treatment of its title character. Brolin infuses W. with a simple determination and a very likable "average Joe" persona that transcends the media caricatures, even throwing himself into the small moments where W. talks with his mouth full of food during lunch meetings.

There is no real insight into his childhood, which is part of the lack of portraying mental and social complexities in W.'s life as a privileged son of a wealthy oil man and politician. But we get enough of his general character in flashbacks from his college days, through his various jobs, to his gubernatorial reign in Texas—Bush was somewhat of a meandering slacker, a bit cocky, and more adept than we're used to seeing. He may not meet the intellectual and ambitious standards of his family, but this W. is no idiot. His brash determinism and confidence is mainly a response to his father's disapproval and his trying step out of his father's shadow to make his own mark in history.

W. is constantly at odds with his father, and the film's underlying theme is this father-son conflict. W.'s drive comes from fighting against his silver-spoon upbringing and his family's pigeonholing him into being the royal screw-up of the Bush clan.

Yes, there is a significant lack of coverage of the more controversial moments in recent U.S. history, but W. is clearly not about the various decisions and actions of George W. Bush as President. It is about W. as a human and the life he's led so far. Stone was intrigued by the path that W., a contemporary, would take to become the President—both he and W. share similar backgrounds in that both were from Connecticut, Episcopalian-raised, concurrently attended Yale, and came from relatively privileged backgrounds. The film ends up being an exploration of this misunderstood figure, this character who some consider to the be most hated U.S. President in history.

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