Review of JFK (1991) by Corey M — 16 Mar 2009

JFK is a masterpiece.

This must be Oliver Stone's most personal project. He delves into soo much information. But somehow he puts it on the screen, and we understand it perfectly.

Tons of information is presented to us in a matter of minutes. All of it is so fascinating. It's very rewatchable.

Anyway, the story.

Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner), is the DA of New Orleans, and makes a case in the murder of John F. Kennedy. They find out that it may not have been Lee Harvey Oswald who pulled the trigger. Garrison has 12 assocites help him, in a case we already know they aren't going to win. Yet, Stone manages to make us root for them.

Alright, the performances.

The whole film is filled with memorable faces. I think this is done, so that we could remember their character's names easier. Costner gives maybe his best performance here, somehow juggiling obbesion with determination, and we really don't know which one he is in the later scenes.

Other key performances were Tommy Lee Jones, who played Clay Shaw, who Garrison believes helped assassinate Kennedy. Joe Pesci plays David Ferrie, another supposed conspirator. Kevin Bacon, Jack Lemmon, Sissy Spacek, and Donald Sutherland all give good supporting performances.

But I think the key supporting performance comes from Gary Oldman, who plays Lee Harvey Oswald. Oldman makes the character his own, and he isn't even seen in person, only in flashbacks, or newsreels. At the end, where Clay Shaw was on trial, I felt for Oswald almost, because it states he didn't know about the assassination, and then was blamed.

If you have any interest in John F. Kennedy or his assassination, watch JFK. Watch it.