Peter Landesman, makes his directorial debut with a huge ensemble cast recreating the events surrounding one of the most significant events in American history. Based on Vincent Bugliosi’s ‘Four Days In November,’ Landesman’s film isn’t about the Kennedy assassination so much as it is about the rippling effect it had on the ordinary people who dealt with its aftermath.
The film begins on that cool fall day with Abraham Zapruder, film camera in hand, ushering his employees out of their building to see the historic visit by JFK and Jackie. Abe positions himself atop a wall to get the best look at the president’s motorcade. He begins rolling film just as the president’s car comes into view and, when the deadly shots are fired, keeps the camera running. He did not know that he had recorded what would become the most examined piece of film in history.
Paul Giamatti gives a shell-shocked performance as the unassuming businessman whose name became forever associated with that day. Landesman never shows the assassination nor the film of it, only the reactions to it, and Zapruder is so gut-wrenched by his experience, he insists that frame 313, the gore-splattered head shot, not be published. He’s led through the day by Forrest Sorrels, head of the Secret Service in Dallas (Billy Bob Thornton) as they negotiate the processing of this ‘new’ technology as evidence, historical archive and horrifying home movie.
Landesman’s decision to widen the film beyond the hospital is the main problem. If the story had focussed on the staff (including steely nurse Harden and priest Haley), the movie would have had a much stronger kick. Especially since they appear in two important sequences. But the script widens to include the FBI and Secret Service, the Oswald family and the team that takes Air Force One back to Washington.
Along the way there are remarkably eye-opening scenes, such as the logistics of getting the president’s coffin onto the plane. And we are also reminded of how much the world has changed, as Zapruder was the only person filming, and it took hours to get it processed and copied. But the most striking fact is that, for all the detail we have, there are still an alarming number of gaps in the story….And while this film nicely dramatises a moment in history, it simply doesn’t work so good as a drama.
The film is very interesting, if your intrigued by history or the whole JFK story. Otherwise, wait until its on TV
Rating 6/10
Discover more from LoveBelfast
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
