JFK by Director Oliver Stone
Kevin Costner Uncovers the Conspiracy in the 1991 Thriller
Jul 12, 2009
From the day that President John F. Kennedy is killed, Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner), suspects something. The District Attorney of New Orleans, he isn't satisfied by the official Warren report and is determined to dig deeper into what really happened in Dallas. As he and his team dig, they uncover a vast conspiracy that links everything from Castro to the Mafia to the United States government itself. Soon, the agents of those responsible start to follow Garrison, as he tracks down individual masterminds and becomes the only man to bring anyone to court for the murder of JFK.
A Greek Tragedy
This three hour epic is a labor of love. Both filmmaker Stone and star Costner are known as Kennedy buffs, not just for the conspiracy, but for his life and his dreams for America, and that is what the film is about deep down. The only stand up guy in the room has to be put down. Stone angles this premise through the lens of a Greek tragedy. Kennedy is a Caesar figure, beholding his public from his motorcade. Suddenly, from the shadows his assailants strike and a massive wave of propaganda fills the media as to the details of the killing. Costner plays Garrison as an Atticus Finch made of vinegar. His relentless crusade is met with attacks from the disbelieving public and his desperate adversaries. His performance, culminating in a powerful direct address, is the finest of many unbelievable performances in the film mainly because it carries the entire picture.
The film is packed with short performances from an array of great actors. Gary Oldman is a mysterious Lee Harvey Oswald, a cloak and dagger figure who's involvement in the assassination becomes doubtable. Tommy Lee Jones was nominated for an Oscar for his performance as shady financier Clay Shaw, accused of being a federal agent by Garrison. Other notables include Joe Pesci, Jay O. Sanders, Kevin Bacon, and a terrific pairing of Ed Asner and Jack Lemmon. What really impresses the point of the film, though, is the persuasive editing and cinematography through the film.
"Kings are killed, Mr. Garrison." - Mr. X (Donald Sutherland)
Cinematographer Robert Richardson and editors Joe Hutshing and Pietro Scalia, who won Oscars for their work on the film, are in hindsight a dream team of technical artists. Each had either won or would win another Oscar for their work and currently rest among the top of their fields. To try to keep with the chronology of the storyline would be nearly helpless: the flashbacks and relays of information cut between present and future events at similar breakneck speeds of Natural Born Killers or moments of The Doors. Every color coded image is meticulously laid on a track designed to persuade one's thinking away from what we have always been told, not an easily attempted feat. Against Stone's credit, he is a propaganda meister just like those he attacks, but then it's also to his credit, because JFK would never have worked so well. 4 out of 4.
