Reading through Ebert's review of JFK, both regular and the one for his Great Movies, one thing is quite clear: the knowledge as well as the confusion held by the American people regarding the assassination of Kennedy is vast. Over the years, they have learnt about the shoddily investigated case, and slowly changed their perspective after taking in every new piece of revelation that came their way. I am completely befuddled by the Aarushi Talwar murder case; I cannot even imagine how obsessed a nation would have been with the death of their President- not any President, but a much loved one.
I knew very little about the whole issue before watching this movie. After watching Watchmen two years ago, I thought The Comedian was the killer. I am kidding, but I knew close to nothing. Stone first chooses a protagonist to tell his story - Jim Garrison, a District Attorney who inadvertently became the face of the investigation. He knows something is quite fishy about the whole case, but isn't able to point his finger on what it is that isn't fitting the puzzle. Three years pass, and the dust has pretty much settled; America has moved on, but Garrison has not. He discreetly starts asking around on his own time and money, and before he knows, he has gone too far and made many people upset. A lot happens after this, and I am not going to go into that as I don't really know if I believe it myself. An amateur footage surfaces and undoubtedly proves that Kennedy was shot by more than one person. This directly contradicts what Warren committee suggested, and hence puts the word 'conspiracy' on the table.
What I found so fascinating about this whole incident is how conspicuously the people of America and the world were lied to. More than the shock of knowing the truth, I was hit by the fact that something of this magnitude was deliberately hidden by the government. JFK is an extremely compelling and brilliantly put together piece of work. With footage sourcing from I-don't-know-how-many cameras and recreations of events based on the testimonies of oh-so-many people, Oliver Stone combines to give one of the most revealing material based on a historical incident. The vastness of this project and the editing prowess makes my head reel. I do not remember much now, but in spite of the fact that so damn much is happening, not once was I confused or had trouble keeping up with the bombarding of facts.
I would like to reiterate what Ebert too felt about this movie. What I infer from this movie does not really matter. The point is that something this big was hidden from people and is still hidden (the documents will be available to public in the year 2029.) The movie romanticizes Kennedy and shows him in the light of a martyr. We all know his slate was anything but clean, and this glorification may be slightly annoying at times. But the fact remains that the leader of a nation, however tainted, was killed by, if I were to believe what Stone is suggesting, scheming, power-hungry bureaucrats. It is wrong and truth had to be told by someone. I think JFK is a technical masterpiece. The actors are all really good, though I was particularly taken by Gary Oldman's performance. Again, the editing is spectacular and the movie has been brilliantly shot. It is 200 minutes long but it is thoroughly gripping.
What I found so fascinating about this whole incident is how conspicuously the people of America and the world were lied to. More than the shock of knowing the truth, I was hit by the fact that something of this magnitude was deliberately hidden by the government. JFK is an extremely compelling and brilliantly put together piece of work. With footage sourcing from I-don't-know-how-many cameras and recreations of events based on the testimonies of oh-so-many people, Oliver Stone combines to give one of the most revealing material based on a historical incident. The vastness of this project and the editing prowess makes my head reel. I do not remember much now, but in spite of the fact that so damn much is happening, not once was I confused or had trouble keeping up with the bombarding of facts.
I would like to reiterate what Ebert too felt about this movie. What I infer from this movie does not really matter. The point is that something this big was hidden from people and is still hidden (the documents will be available to public in the year 2029.) The movie romanticizes Kennedy and shows him in the light of a martyr. We all know his slate was anything but clean, and this glorification may be slightly annoying at times. But the fact remains that the leader of a nation, however tainted, was killed by, if I were to believe what Stone is suggesting, scheming, power-hungry bureaucrats. It is wrong and truth had to be told by someone. I think JFK is a technical masterpiece. The actors are all really good, though I was particularly taken by Gary Oldman's performance. Again, the editing is spectacular and the movie has been brilliantly shot. It is 200 minutes long but it is thoroughly gripping.