Review of JFK (1991) by David H — 26 Nov 2008

I'll start by saying that this film is an abomination to Kennedy's memory. Showing flashes of his autopsy was horrifying and unnecessary. I love conspiracy theories way more then the next guy, but a lot of this was pure speculation and fiction.

I would be alright if it was presented as that, but the film is quite arrogant in it's depiction of what it thinks is fact that it becomes sickening. Kevin Costner is likable, I guess, save for a few of his sickly charming everyman moments.

The film will divide viewers; those who believe the government is honest and could never be capable of killing their own president will dislike the film, while those who have a shred of belief in the fact that it could be possible for our government to stage such a conspiracy may like it.

Stone is a different kind of director; he doesn't care who he offends, and he makes some of the most preposterous films, usually profiting off of American tragedies such as September 11th, this, and Vietnam; and I hate him for that.

He also succeeds at creating fantastical representations of legendary figures, such as Presidents Nixon and Bush. I get what the message is; be scared of your government, because they can do more and cover up more than you think.

But I think that's alright. I've reached a point in my conspiracy theory-filled world were I've begun to believe that cover-ups and black ops are necessary. When X (played by Donald Sutherland, probably the best character in the film) exposes all the facts to Garrison, about how the economy runs because of war and how we need war for industry to function and how JFK was wanted to change all of that.

.. I was on X's side! Now, the whole point of the film is to say that change is good and what JFK was trying to accomplish was good and the CIA and such wanted to rub him out so they could return the US to status quo.

I guess it's the conservative voice inside that's telling me that what happened here was good, and I'm listening to it. Other miscellaneous notes... the quality, in terms of conematography and style is excellent; the film is a prime example of how a film should be shot.

The splicing of real footage, created fake footage, real scenes, and flashbacks was flawless. Also, when Garrison finds out Robert Kennedy was killed, he suddenly gets the urge to fuck his wife (WTF?).

And finally, the Seinfeld magic loogie demonstration finally makes sense to me. All in all, it was a good film, but I don't necessarly agree with the message it's trying to send.