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The Great Movies: JFK
by Eric (movies profile)
Sep 7, 2007
1
of
1 people found this review helpful
Everybody has a conspiracy theory about the murder of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Some say Lee Harvey Oswald did it (though they're less in numbers now). Some say the mob or the Cubans. Others even claim aliens. What most critic's of Oliver Stone's masterpiece don't understand is that it doesn't matter who they believe did it, but that they're less likely to believe the lies behind the fact; there was more than one shooter.
But Oliver Stone's film doesn't start with a president's death as much his life. We get a brief history of Kennedy's presidency. There's two good reasons for this: 1) It catches new audiances up on things that will be discussed later in the film and 2) It allows us to connect with the man before we get to his death. And even then, we do not relate to his death first-hand, but through Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner), district attorney of New Orleans. He finds that there's a link to assasins in New Orleans, but as he's about to make a collar, Oswald is killed and it's no longer needed. Years later, Garrison looks at the case again after a conversation with a congressman lures him back to it. He reopens the case to the confusion of his staff and realizes there's more to this story than he bargained for.
The film rounds off more than a few of the conspiracy theories that all have merit (besides the alien one). Connections to anti-communist forces and CIA operatives come into focus. Any of these are plausible, but Garrison focuses on the one that makes the most sense to him: the government was involved. Eventually, his investigation leaks and Garrison finds his case in a spotlight. It forces him to arrest Clay Shaw (Tommy Lee Jones) as one of the conspirators and brings down a wrath of hate from the media.
Not to mention that Jim's wife (Sissy Spacek) is starting to crack under the pressure of constant threats to her family. Jim's staff is staring to pull away from him. He keeps continuing on the self-assurance that the truth is within reach.
The trial is done in full spectacle. Garrison doesn't really have enough to show Shaw's connection, but what he does have is more than enough to prove there was a conspiracy. The film is more than glad to go through all of this over and over again. Perhaps Garrison's reasons for having the trial wasn't so much to get the person responsible, but to voice the concerns of a nation the only way he knew how. If that manner was appropriate, I leave to you to decide.
JFK is anything if a character study of Garrison as a person and as an ideal. Could he have falled in love with being the latter, I'd almost say yes. What Costner does with Garrison is make him bold to the point of blindness, stubborn to the point of noble. Supporting him are a cast of actors who bring their best game forward. Watch Michael Rooker as one of Garrison's lead investigators as he slowly becomes disillusioned with his boss' quest for truth. Look at Gary Oldman's Oswald as he portrays this character three different ways, each more mysterious than the other. Kevin Bacon and Joe Pesci both adding more fuel to this bonfire with pitch perfect supporting roles. And finally Spacek who underplays and overplays in just the right moments, leaving us to feel more sympathy for her than if she were just another movie nagging wife.
But it is Oliver Stone who is the real star. His boldness to tell this story is already a thing of legend. But what makes this such an important film isn't just the message, but Stone's way of photographing feelings and emotions and making us believe he knows what he's talking about. He uses every trick in the book from 8mm to black and white, to oversaturation to dutch angles. You can follow along with a film student and within 30 minutes of this film they'll have enough homework for two months. But finally, he makes us care about these people and make us care about the truth. And when you're able to do that, that's when you know your film is powerful.
Perhaps Oswald did kill Kennedy. Perhaps all those little things were just coincidences and that mass hysteria did take effect on that grassy knoll. Or perhaps Johnson was involved. The mark of a good conspiracy is the way that it can never be proven. Maybe we'll know one day, but the truth will never effect how this film will move us. |
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