JFK (1991)
Who killed JFK?
Presentation:
I find films like JFK and Spotlight to have overinflated reviews carried by their compelling source material. This is a 3 hour+ film about the conspiracy of the JFK assassination. To be frank, I’m not into real conspiracies because there’s just so much information that we can never know. Assuming that the details are factual and dramatic liberties are minimal, it’s quite easy to believe the conspiracists - and the film successfully did convince me. However, I am of the opinion that a film like this works better as a documentary. The dramatized acting ends up weakening the credibility because it is impossible to view this film objectively through the lens of cinema. What it does accomplish is present a nostalgic period piece with vintage blooming highlights and dialogue. I was really immersed in the 60s and was impressed by Gary Oldman’s performance, though not of Costner and Pesci’s.
Conclusion:
Was Lee Harvey Oswald set-up? I guess we will have to wait until 2029 for some files to declassify. But considering modern politics, I have no confidence there will be actual transparency. If you wanted any more reason to doubt the U.S. government, this provides plenty of ammo. Though maybe you shouldn’t learn conspiracies from dramatized film.
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Who killed JFK?