4. George W. Bush - W. (2008)
Oliver Stone's biopic following the life of George W. Bush is a surprisingly sympathetic look at the life of the 43rd President of the United States, underpinned by an exceptional character performance by Brolin. Following him from his time at Yale through to his time in office, it offers an insight into the much ridiculed figure, and mixes comedy and tragedy, to show the troubles he had to overcome despite his privileges. Rather than an outright criticism, or even something to mythologise his legacy, we are given an even portrait of the man, to the eternal credit of Stone and the cast. Brolin was the third choice for the role, even referred to as a "last minute" pick, after Harrison Ford and Christian Bale both dropped out of the role, but you wouldn't belive it considering the quality of the performance. When he took on the role, he researched heavily into both Bush himself, including his body language at different times throughout his period in office, and Texan accents in general, and that commitment shines through in the final performance. Brolin's performance, crucially, never crosses the line into caricature. - instead, the portrayal is sympathetic, yet it doesn't alleviate Bush of his many mistakes. It's a frank look at the journey he took to become President and what happened thereafter, which soars thanks to Brolin's character actor credentials.