Death of a President

British filmmaker Gabriel Range's Death of a President imagines the aftermath of the assassination of President Bush in a Chicago hotel on October 19, 2007. Adopting a docudrama format, the film is most effective in staging the murder of the president as seen through the shaky and surprised news camera lenses (Bush's face is very briefly inserted into the mix via digital trickery), followed by another jolting sequence involving the somber funeral coordinated by new President Cheney (his eulogy appears to be a slice-and-dice of previous speeches). Less effective, however, is the story in the wake of the killing, in which a Syrian national is hastily arrested and rushed through the judicial process while Cheney pushes for an update of the Patriot Act to expand the government's heavy-handed fight on terrorism. At this point, the film devolves into a thinly-veiled critique of the Bush administration's Iraq policies and the civil rights-trampling aspects of homeland security, especially in regard to Muslim Americans. In addition, late plot developments involving an assassination conspiracy theory feel like warmed-over Oliver Stone musings. Die-hard Bush and Cheney bashers may get a kick out of the very unusual manner in which the filmmakers channel their anger at the administration's policies, but for those expecting a cohesive (let alone coherent) narrative, this uneven film will prove baffling. Of curio value only, this is an optional purchase. (P. Hall)