JFK
A film review by Chad Polenz
Copyright 1997 Chad Polenz
**** (out of 4 = excellent) 1991, R, 189 minutes [3 hours, 9 minutes] [drama/mystery] starring: Kevin Costner (Jim Garrison), Gary Oldman (Lee Harvey Oswald), Joe Pesci (David Ferrie), Tommy Lee Jones (Clay Shaw/Burtron), produced by Oliver Stone, A. Kitman Ho, written by Oliver Stone, Zachary Sklar, directed by Oliver Stone, based on the novel by James Garrison.
"JFK" is like a music video with a story, with hyper editing and an absorbing and thrilling mood. It grasps you, moves you, and makes you think. At times it can be something more than a movie, like some kind of window into another reality.
Kevin Costner delivers an outstanding performance as New Orleans D.A. Jim Garrison, upon whose novel and life story the film is based. Garrison has some small connections with the JFK assassination when it first occurs, but nothing comes out if it until three years after the incident. He becomes so obsessed with the case it becomes his life's driving force. He knows there's more to it than he has been told and decides to solve a mystery even the federal government could not.
Mysteries are never simple stories, especially as told by Oliver Stone. Stone's use of hyper editing and surrealistic direction make for a moving, and at times, scary mood. Certain words are emphasized and dramatic camera angles and high contrast film also add to the mood. I didn't care so much about the mystery as much as I was fascinated by the process used to tell it.
The focus of the story is not the government or the assassination, it is the people. Garrison isn't just some obsessed lawyer, he is a real man with a family. He is so focused on "saving" the rest of the country eventually his home life starts to crumble - which is more important? Perhaps this element is a little melodramatic but it also emphasizes the theme because of the contrast.
Most of the film depicts Garrison and his staff's efforts to find out why, how, and who killed Kennedy. All of the theories uncovered seem unbelievable and yet logical at the same time. Stone's perfect depiction of mood is what makes it all realistic and the excellent acting clinches it.
"JFK" takes many different theories and puts them together in a complicated but professional way. Stone doesn't want us to think this story is the "correct answer," but just to realize how powerful those in power really are.
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