← Back to Reviews
in
JFK
Possibly the finest docudrama ever made and definitely director Oliver Stone's masterpiece, 1991's JFK is a meticulously crafted look at one man's pursuit of the truth regarding the conspiracy surrounding the death of our 35th president. As I try to do with fact-based dramas, I will do my best to stay off any political soapboxes and discuss this film as a piece of entertainment, nothing more, nothing less.
Director and co-screenwriter Oliver Stone has done something here that had never really been done before to such startling effect. He has compiled an unprecedented amount of archival news footage regarding the presidency and the assassination and seamlessly edited into the story of Jim Garrison, the Louisiana district attorney whose own investigation into the assassination is closed down by the federal government. Three years later, Garrison cannot let it go and re-assembles his team to continue his investigation into the death of JFK and, more importantly, that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone and was part of a cover up that might have led all the way to the White House.
The crux of this investigation seems to involve a wealthy businessman named Clayton Shaw who, according to this film, was spotted by more than one witness in the area of the shooting that day and how Shaw wound up as the only person ever actually brought to trial for conspiring to murder the president, even if he was acquitted.
Oliver Stone has taken on a mammoth assignment here and has made his personal agenda clear regarding what is presented. He employs a lot of stylish techniques to bring this story to the screen without the dryness that some of it implies. That famous footage of the assassination that we've all seen a million times is utilized throughout here, but not in the way assumed. Stone cuts up the footage and only uses bits and pieces of it near the beginning of the film but always stops at the moment the first shot rings out, then recreating the reactions all around to what is happening, starting with all the birds flying from the top of the building from where the shots allegedly came, a striking image. The footage isn't used in complete form until Shaw's trial, and even now, after all these years, it's still very difficult to watch and Stone knows that too and makes it clear for the viewer.
The continuity between the drama that Stone has directed and the archival footage is often shocking and Stone is to be commended for the unending research and logistics that had to be compiled in presenting these stories. I thought I had seen everything there was to see about this event in terms of archival footage but I was wrong. This film actually features some shocking images of JFK on the operating table after being shot with Jackie pacing in the background...I've never seen anything so horrifying, I thought the footage of the shooting was hard to watch.
As can be imagined, all the detail involved in giving a balanced and accurate account of Jim Garrison's investigation, that this film is going to be long and yes, it does run a little longer than it needs to, but I can't see taking anything out of here regarding the investigation. If anything, the footage depicting the effect the investigation was having on Jim's family could have been trimmed a bit...we've seen these scenes in a million different movies and Stone really didn't bring anything new to them and they definitely provided the film's slow spots.
Stone is also to be commended for utilizing mad star power here that never overpowers the story he's trying tell. Kevin Costner is strong and sincere as Jim Garrison, the one man crusade to prove that the Warren Commission Report was crap. Costner imbues a dry humor to the character that is so enjoyable, especially in his summing up to the jury regarding the theory of "the magic bullet", maybe his strongest scene in the film, just brilliant.
Tommy Lee Jones is brilliant as Clay Shaw...this is the performance that should have won him the Oscar, not The Fugitive...Jones chews the scenery when it's appropriate and underplays when it's appropriate. Sissy Spacek makes the most of her thankless role as Liz Garrison and I also enjoyed Michael Rooker, Laurie Metcalf, Gary Grubbs, Wayne Knight, and Jay O. Saunders as Garrison's investigative teams. Other star turns offered along the way include John Candy, Jack Lemmon, Donald Sutherland, Lolita Davidovich, Walter Matthau, Joe Pesci, and Edward Asner. Special mention to Kevin Bacon as the gay hustler who outs Clay Shaw and Gary Oldman, appropriately creepy as Lee Harvey Oswald, but this film is a tribute to the sometime off-center genius that is Oliver Stone.
Possibly the finest docudrama ever made and definitely director Oliver Stone's masterpiece, 1991's JFK is a meticulously crafted look at one man's pursuit of the truth regarding the conspiracy surrounding the death of our 35th president. As I try to do with fact-based dramas, I will do my best to stay off any political soapboxes and discuss this film as a piece of entertainment, nothing more, nothing less.
Director and co-screenwriter Oliver Stone has done something here that had never really been done before to such startling effect. He has compiled an unprecedented amount of archival news footage regarding the presidency and the assassination and seamlessly edited into the story of Jim Garrison, the Louisiana district attorney whose own investigation into the assassination is closed down by the federal government. Three years later, Garrison cannot let it go and re-assembles his team to continue his investigation into the death of JFK and, more importantly, that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone and was part of a cover up that might have led all the way to the White House.
The crux of this investigation seems to involve a wealthy businessman named Clayton Shaw who, according to this film, was spotted by more than one witness in the area of the shooting that day and how Shaw wound up as the only person ever actually brought to trial for conspiring to murder the president, even if he was acquitted.
Oliver Stone has taken on a mammoth assignment here and has made his personal agenda clear regarding what is presented. He employs a lot of stylish techniques to bring this story to the screen without the dryness that some of it implies. That famous footage of the assassination that we've all seen a million times is utilized throughout here, but not in the way assumed. Stone cuts up the footage and only uses bits and pieces of it near the beginning of the film but always stops at the moment the first shot rings out, then recreating the reactions all around to what is happening, starting with all the birds flying from the top of the building from where the shots allegedly came, a striking image. The footage isn't used in complete form until Shaw's trial, and even now, after all these years, it's still very difficult to watch and Stone knows that too and makes it clear for the viewer.
The continuity between the drama that Stone has directed and the archival footage is often shocking and Stone is to be commended for the unending research and logistics that had to be compiled in presenting these stories. I thought I had seen everything there was to see about this event in terms of archival footage but I was wrong. This film actually features some shocking images of JFK on the operating table after being shot with Jackie pacing in the background...I've never seen anything so horrifying, I thought the footage of the shooting was hard to watch.
As can be imagined, all the detail involved in giving a balanced and accurate account of Jim Garrison's investigation, that this film is going to be long and yes, it does run a little longer than it needs to, but I can't see taking anything out of here regarding the investigation. If anything, the footage depicting the effect the investigation was having on Jim's family could have been trimmed a bit...we've seen these scenes in a million different movies and Stone really didn't bring anything new to them and they definitely provided the film's slow spots.
Stone is also to be commended for utilizing mad star power here that never overpowers the story he's trying tell. Kevin Costner is strong and sincere as Jim Garrison, the one man crusade to prove that the Warren Commission Report was crap. Costner imbues a dry humor to the character that is so enjoyable, especially in his summing up to the jury regarding the theory of "the magic bullet", maybe his strongest scene in the film, just brilliant.
Tommy Lee Jones is brilliant as Clay Shaw...this is the performance that should have won him the Oscar, not The Fugitive...Jones chews the scenery when it's appropriate and underplays when it's appropriate. Sissy Spacek makes the most of her thankless role as Liz Garrison and I also enjoyed Michael Rooker, Laurie Metcalf, Gary Grubbs, Wayne Knight, and Jay O. Saunders as Garrison's investigative teams. Other star turns offered along the way include John Candy, Jack Lemmon, Donald Sutherland, Lolita Davidovich, Walter Matthau, Joe Pesci, and Edward Asner. Special mention to Kevin Bacon as the gay hustler who outs Clay Shaw and Gary Oldman, appropriately creepy as Lee Harvey Oswald, but this film is a tribute to the sometime off-center genius that is Oliver Stone.