JFK by Oliver Stone - Movie Review Example

“JFK” JKF is an American thrilling film produced in 1991. It was directed by Oliver Stone. The movie was based on the political assassination of President John F. Kennedy. JKF film examined the events that possibly led to the assassination of the John F. Kennedy on 22 November 1963 in Dallas, and the subsequent cover-up through the findings of past New Orleans DA, Jim Garrison (played by Kelvin) (James 124). Jim Garrison filed charges against a businessman, Clay Shaw, (Tommy Lee Jones) alleging that he had participated in the President John Kennedy plot to assassination conspiracy. According to the two investigation conducted by the government through House Select committee on Assassination and the Warren Commission, Lee Harvey Oswald (Gary Oldman) was found responsible for the shooting. Oliver Stone recreated Kennedy’s assassination in Dealey Plaza. The producers of the film had to part with substantial amounts of money in order to ensure that the traffic was rerouted and streets closed for three weeks. According to Katrin (161), Oliver Stone’s film JKF is based on real court cases that happened in late 1960s in New Orleans. The film makes serious allegations against the government. The film presents a clear conspiracy theory that implicates rogue characters in the government’s highest rankings. The film used the heroic figure of Jim Garrison in trying to bring the conspiracy that led to the assassination of Kennedy to light. It also brings out the determination of Garrison of finding the truth of the assassination (Peter 15). Garrison claimed that he did not care on whose toes he stepped in his idealized pursuit of the truth. The main agenda of the movie was to bring the assassination act to justice, as well as to unveil the culprits behind it. The film starts with a documentary that presents John Kennedy as radial. According to film, this was the principal reason for his assassination. This raised mixed reactions on the level of the accuracy of the documentary. One of the main agendas of Oliver Stone was to make people believe that there was an assassination behind Kennedy’s death. This he managed to do since many Americans believed him. Norman (251) argues that several Americans believe that there was a conspiracy behind Kennedy’s death. Stone has expressed his quest to discredit the two commissions report. Only a few Americans believe in the official account on the Kennedy assassination, which singled out Lee Harvey Oswald as the lone killer. According to Stone, the report had numerous flaws; the maimed notes, the missing brain, the failure to account for action in the Abe Zapruder’s accidental filming of the assassination, and the magic bullet theory. In the film, Stone tries to pass the message that the disappearance of Kennedy’s brain was a cover-up act to prevent the public from finding out where exactly the gunshot originated. According to the Warren Commission, there were three gunshots fired at President John F. Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally (Steven 29). The commission claimed that the second shot caused all the fatal and non-fatal wounds on the President. According to conspiracy theorists, there was no way one shot could have caused the multiple wounds to the two victims. In the film, Stone disputes the commission’s findings through the theorists whose idea he labeled as the “Magic bullet theory”. In the film, we see Garrison demonstrating the claims placed by the conspiracy theorists in the courtroom (James 212). In this scene, he described that the bullet had to zigzag in a logically impossible way in order to create all those wounds to the two men. This unlikely trajectory adequately proves that the wounds were caused by more than one bullet. Therefore, there was more than one shooter. Stone’s agenda was to unravel the distortion of truths and lies that the government tolerated. In the film, Stone puts legitimate efforts in assaulting the commissions’ reports, which withhold the truth from the public. Least to say, the film had tangible effects. The film created public outrage. Most of the documentaries done on the assassination were declassified. The film strives to distance John F. Kennedy from the wrong political and economic policies, which portrays him as a rebellious and heroic president (Peter 142). Based on 62 reviews and articles collected from notable authors and publishers, the film held 84% fresh approval rating. However, the Oliver Stone’s film was put under scrutiny and intense criticism. A few weeks after production and release, on May 14, 1991, Margolis Jon termed it as an insult to the intelligence in the Chicago Tribune article. A week later, Washington Post ran an article which a national security correspondent, Lardner George titled, “On the Set: Dallas in Wonderland”. The article used the first draft of the film to expose it for palpable untruths and absurdities in the Stone’s rendition and Garrison’s book. The article clearly pointed out that Jim Garrison had lost his case against Shaw. According to the article, Garrison was trying to inflate his weak case by trying to manipulate Shaw’s homosexual relationship in an attempt to prove him guilty. In his attempts to counter-react to these allegations, Stone hired a public firm that professionally specialized in political matters. On June 10 1991, Times Magazine ran an article on the film-in-progress. It accused Stone of trying to suppress a rival John F. Kennedy assassination film based on DeLillo’s novel, Libra. Stone refuted these claims in a letter addressed to the magazine. Many a times the filmmaker ended up spending much of his time in responding to the critics and conducting public campaigns (Norman 211). However, Larder article stung the most since he had stolen a copy of the first draft. The film continued to earn critics even after it was officially released in theaters. The popular New Times ran an article entitled “Hollywood Wonders If Warner let JFK Go TOO Far” by Bernard Weinraub, which criticized the work of Stone. The article also observed that the film was preaching the gospel that, the government could not be trusted in giving an honest account on the assassination of the President. In his book, Reclaiming History, Vincent Bugliosi devoted a whole chapter to the film. Bugliosi listed thirty-two lies and fabrications in the Stone’s film. He termed the film as a continuous lie in which Oliver Stone could not find any substantial level of deception beyond that he was unwilling to go. On the other hand, the film had accolades on the excellent work it had done in unveiling the truth behind the assassination of the President. Roger Ebert in his article, “Political Thriller”, gave credit to the good work the film had done in digging dipper into the truth without fear of favor. He ranked the film as one of the most political thrilling movie ever. Public also positively commented that, the movie had at last brought the light to the most controversial assassination in the America. In conclusion, Stone achieved his core goal of conveying his massage to the public on the assassination of John F. Kennedy. He passed his findings in the best way possible through the film. Stone was able to make people believe that Kennedy’s death was an orchestrated conspiracy. As a matter of fact, between two-thirds and three-quarters of the America population believe in his findings. Stone was also able to discredit the two reports conducted by the government by the use of “Magic bullet Theory” and the inability of the commissions to account for the missing brain. Weighing between the few critics and the approvals on the film, it is clear that it was received as intended. Most said that the film, JFK, was cleverly directed, tightly written and breathtakingly well-acted film. Works Cited James, Welsh. The Oliver Stone Encyclopedia. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. 2012. Print. Katrin, Appenzeller. JFK by Oliver Stone. Munich: GRIN Verlag. 2009. Print. Norman, Kagan. The Cinema of Oliver. London: The University of Michigan. 2000. Print. Peter, Knight. The Kennedy Assassination. Representing American Events. Edinburgh, Scotland: Edinburgh University Press. 2007. Print. Steven, Gillon. The Kennedy Assassination--24 Hours After: Lyndon B. Johnsons Pivotal First Day as President. New York: Basic Books. 2010. Print. Read More