JFK

More ink has been spilled on the subject of the film JFK, director Oliver Stone's latest effort (his last two films, also inspired by the 60s, were Born on the Fourth of July and The Doors), than any other movie in recent history. This is understandable since the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas, was probably the most traumatic single event in the collective life of Americans in modern times. Oddly, what is easiest to dispense with about Stone's version of the efforts of former New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison (played by Kevin Costner) to prosecute alleged conspirator Clay Shaw (Tommy Lee Jones), is the movie itself. JFK, the movie, is a massively awkward juggernaut that is plagued by poor plotting, an absence of character development, an embarrassingly hokey script, and editing which is both idiotic and ethically questionable (an Oscar for editing notwithstanding). Based on Garrison's book On the Trail of the Assassins and Jim Marrs' Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy, the lion's share of JFK consists of Costner's one-note performance, questioning suspects, brainstorming with his investigative team, quoting the Bible--all in monotone--while his hyperkinetic associates regularly burst through the door to breathlessly announce the latest tidbit. It's neither enlightening nor entertaining, but rather purposely confusing, and more than a little obnoxious (throughout Stone has shot both color and black & white additions to the actual documentary footage which he then indiscriminately melds with the real footage; at the same time, routinely switching from color to black & white and back again in a totally-MTV-no-apparent-reason style). For me, the carnival spirit of JFK, typified by showing the fatal shot as recorded by Abraham Zapruder's 8mm movie camera nearly a dozen times in slow motion, as well as the extensive autopsy scenes (again mixing both the real and Stone's macabre additions), is truly captured in one scene. Garrison, working in the kitchen, is listening to the tail end of Robert Kennedy's speech coming from the television in the living room; as Kennedy is winding up, a look of fear and anxiety washes over Garrison's face, and he turns in preparation to run towards the living room: only then do the shots fired by Sirhan ring out. For this kind of insulting B-movie oh-my-god-I-just-knew-it crystal ball crap, the movie community awarded JFK eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. After offering over two hours of burgeoning and focusless paranoia, JFK takes a sudden, unexpected turn near the film's close. At the trial of Clay Shaw (which is not only unimportant, but actually serves as just a shell for the movie's belated centerpiece), Garrison provides voiceover narration (apparently to the jury) while a powerful montage recreates the moment-by-moment events of the assassination and its aftermath. Backed by John Williams' nervous, kinetic score, this 20-minute mini-masterpiece is not only excellent filmmaking, it leaves no doubt, for anyone left who had doubts, that the Warren Commission's "lone assassin" theory is absolutely wrong. While the truth about the assassination of John F. Kennedy may never be known, the steadily mounting evidence that the CIA was directly involved (Mark Lane's recent Plausible Denial: Was the CIA Involved in the Assassination of JFK?) and the strong suggestion that Kennedy's plans to withdraw from Vietnam drew the wrath of the military-industrial complex (John M. Newman's JFK and Vietnam)--accusations advanced in Stone's JFK, are vitally important concepts for the American public to understand. Ergo, while I personally despise Stone's fast and loose approach to deeply emotional historical events (and I fervently hope that we may be spared his will-the-scene-play? approach to history in the near future), I have to highly recommend what is, in effect, a poorly made movie. The reasons are simple: JFK reminds us, that even in America, unpopular ideas, or ideas contrary to the prevailing power structure, can be as fatal as AIDS, cancer, or a heart attack. That we the people condone this situation through our indifference and silence is both dangerous and shameful. That millions of Americans--a vast audience, many of whom haven't cracked a single one of the many books on the subject--will now see the "truth" (in its broadest sense) on video, is an opportunity that cannot be passed over. (R. Pitman) [DVD Review—Nov. 11, 2008—Warner, 3 discs, 205 min., R, $39.98—Making its fourth appearance on DVD, 1991's JFK (Ultimate Collector's Edition) sports a great transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. DVD extras are the same as the previous 'special edition,' but this handsome boxed set adds the 128-minute documentary The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings, a 44-page book of behind-the-scenes production photos, a set of six character photo cards, five reproductions of letters written by or to John F. Kennedy, plus the text of JFK's historic inaugural address. Bottom line: if you already own the 'special edition,' you can pick up The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings separately; if not, this set is worth adding.]