OK so this is YET another post revisit as I have already relooked at this post last year (as the original was from what is now my exclusive tennis blog) but since the anniversary of the Kennedy assassination is almost upon us (i.e. tomorrow 22 November) I thought I would look at it again.
So with that in mind let's get in the courtroom and give this film another look.....
And yep as usual here is a PLOT SPOILER ALERT!!!
STORY
So the story starts with pre-credits explaining the events leading up to Kennedy's assassination (narrated by Martin Sheen). On the day of the assassination, in New Orleans, District Attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) is informed by one of his staff Lou Barnes (Jay Sanders) of the crime. After Kennedy's death is announced officially on television, the suspected assassin Lee Harvey Oswald (Gary Oldman) is arrested and taken to the station for questioning. Garrison then plans to investigate any suspects and associates of Lee Harvey Oswald's that might be under his jurisdiction in New Orleans, however before he can do that, Oswald is assassinated live on TV by Dallas mob man Jack Ruby (Brian Doyle Murray). Regardless of Oswald's shock assassination, Garrison brings in one of Oswald's alleged known associates, David Ferrie (Joe Pesci) who naturally denies he ever knew Oswald. However Ferrie gives a very shaky account of his activities on the day of the assassination which Garrison doesn't believe and has Ferrie detained for more questioning by the FBI, regardless of this though Ferrie is let go, after which Garrison decides not to continue investigating any further.
Three years later in 1966, after sharing a conversation with a senator, Russell Long (played by the late great Walter Matthau) on an airplane, Garrison starts to have serious doubts and suspicions about the events of the assassination and that Oswald was the lone gunman. After more digging around, and reading over the 26 volumes of the official assassination investigation, published by Warren Commission and conducted by chief judge Earl Warren (played by Garrison himself), Garrison decides to re-open the investigation of the crime. With his small team of staff, Garrison questions many different witnesses to the shooting, and potential suspects that may have been connected to the assassination. As Garrison and his team investigate further, a name that keeps popping up is Clay Bertrand, who is later revealed to be Clay Shaw (played by Tommy Lee Jones) a well respected businessman and entrepeneur.
However on bringing Shaw in for questioning, Shaw categorically denies any knowledge of Oswald, Ferrie or any one else potentially involved in the conspiracy, as well as denying his Clay Bertrand alias. But soon after their meeting, Garrison's investigation is made public and soon the press and media come down hard on him. Now forced to operate out in the open, Garrison faces tough choices ahead of him in carrying out his investigation, after receiving various death threats, crank calls, and narrowly escaping frame ups to discredit him. Eventually after rigorous investigations, including a discussion with an ex-military figure who simply calls himself "X" (Donald Sutherland) who provides him with important background knowledge to the events surrounding the assassination, Garrison decides to arrest Shaw and prosecute him for his possible involvement in the alleged conspiracy to assassinate Kennedy. What follows after this is a lengthy trial sequence where Garrison presents his case for the prosecution of Clay Shaw as well as his speculation on the events on the day of the assassination in Dallas.
THOUGHTS ON THE FILM AND CONSPIRACY THEORY
JFK is without a doubt a great achievement in its own, as Oliver Stone took a controversial subject and turned into a fascinating, gripping and intelligent film. If you look at the events and evidence that are presented in the film, it certainly does a great job at convincing you that there was a possible conspiracy involved. Jim Garrison himself showed tremendous moral courage and character in bringing such a trial to the public eye, as he himself faced great danger in enraging the government and endangering his own life in the process. But Garrison is never potrayed as anything else other than a very decent man who in reality at first was never really keen on Kennedy at the time but during his investigation came to admire him for what he stood for during his time as the president before his untimely tragic death. Oliver Stone himself based the film on Jim Garrison's book, On the trail of assassins (which details Garrison's trial to prosecute Clay Shaw) as well as Crossfire: the plot that killed Kennedy by Jim Marrs.
But whether or not a conspiracy took place in Dallas that day or not, no one really knows, but the film certainly does its best to convince the viewer that there was one. One of key aspects of the assassination as highlighted in the film was that it seemed highly unlikely that Oswald could have fired 3 shots that from the book depository window, in such a short space of time (5-7 seconds), and do it with such precision from the distance he was at from the motorcade. And that is where the other riflemen come into the equation and the scenario of a team that would be able to place themselves in fixed positions to ensure the assassination would be carried out precisely.
Another crucial crux of the film and the case was, there had to be more than just 3 shots, as if for no better reason, there were four known wounds, three to Kennedy (in the throat, back and head) and one to Governor Conally (one in the back). This is where the Warren Commission presented the ridiculous "magic bullet" theory that one bullet accounted for the wounds between Connally and Kennedy. Also based from the facts given from the film, it seems unlikely that if after Oswald committed the crime, that he would be able race down the stairs in about 90 seconds, only to face a police officer who was checking out the building, to ask whom he was, and appear not to be out of breath, which the policeman testified later that Oswald was absolutely not out of breath.
Another theory however that has been stated over the years was the final headshot that killed Kennedy was in fact fired by one of the secret service agents, Clinton Hill in one of the car's behind Kennedy's parade car in which Hill accidentally fired off a round from his M16 gun in the confusion which caused the fatal head shot that killed Kennedy. Then there is the film footage, taken by an onlooker Abraham Zapruder, which shows the assassination itself, and gives possible clues of the direction of where the bullets came from.
Another key point was surely, if Oswald was even the lone gunman, he would not have acted alone, as he must been acting on behalf of powerful people behind the scenes, in this regard Oswald himself could well have been a sleeper cell, who was set in motion at the key moment, but again this is just a bit of speculation, but I personally have never bought into the possibility that Oswald was just as Garrison says in the film "an angry lone nut" who carried out the assassination purely by himself. However in recent years the theory involving Hill is considered to be more accurate given that the type of shot fired from his M16 machine gun was far more powerful and destructive than the first two shots fired at Kennedy.
PERFORMANCES
Anyway moving onto the performances, well this is where JFK really excels as a film with a really top notch cast. And starting with Kevin Costner, while he not be the best actor in the world, does give a fine performance as the DA Jim Garrison, who takes on the daunting task of bringing the JFK assassination to trial, he also shows Garrison as being a very moral man, as well as being very strong and stubborn in the face of adversity. Costner has many highlights in the film which include his lengthy 30 minute court case sequence where he delivers a very lengthy monologue to the jury going over the arguments of his prosecution. Costner also has some other good moments such as the scene where he argues with one of his staff, Bill Broussard (Michael Rooker) who argues that the mob could have been behind the assassination and Garrison refutes the idea. And Garrison says "Could the mob change the parade route, Bill? Could the mob influence the national media to go to sleep? I mean could the mob get Oswald into and Russia and get him back??? And when have the mob used anything but 38.s for hits up close??? The mob wouldn't have the guts or power for something of this magnetude! Assassins need paryolls, schedules, times, orders! This was a military style ambush! This was a coupe de'tat with Lyndon Johnson waiting in the wings!". Another highlight of Costner's is when Garrison and his wife argue and as she yells at him "I want my life back!" he shouts back "So do I, goddamnit! I have a life too you know! But you can't just bury your head in the sand like some ostrich, Liz! Its not about our house, our two cars, and our kitchen! Its about our kids growing up in a shithole of lies and I'm angry about it! And my life is fucked because of it, and if you can see it that way then you're life is fucked too!".
And Costner as Garrison in the film now and then quotes pieces of William Shakespeare and the most notable one is after he has his meeting with Clay Shaw and he quotes from Hamlet and says "One may smile and smile and be a villain!". Also there are some great lines that Costner get's during his epic monologue to the jury and the most notable bit probably is the end where Garrison becomes emotional and says to them "Do not forget your dying king. Show this world that this is still a government of the people, for the people and by the people. Nothing as long as you live will ever be more important. Its up to you". And during the case Costner has another great moment where Garrison discusses the ridiculous nature of the magic bullet theory which he describes as "one of the grossest lies ever forced on the American people!". And after he explains the supposed wounds created by the bullet he says to the jury "That's some bullet! But the government says they can prove it with some fancy physics in a nuclear laboratory. Of course they can. Pheoretical physics can prove an elephant can hang from a cliff with its tail tied to a daisy! But use your eyes and your common sense!". Then there is the scene where Garrison shows the footage of the murder and he says at the moment of the fatal head shot to Kennedy we see Kennedy fall violently back and to the left which is inconsistent with the direction of the book depository "back and to the left, back and to the left, back and to the left! What haeppened next? Pandemonium!".
Joe Pesci also probably gives the film's best performance as Dave Ferrie, the crazed suspect (replete with a ridiculous wig and eyebrows and a rather exagerrated Southern accent!) who later admits to his involvement with Oswald, as he shows a mixture of malice and remorse. Pesci also has some great moments as the paranoid Ferrie and his first scene is great when Ferrie is taken into Garrison's office for questioning over his whereabouts of the weekend of the assassination, but Ferrie's story is filled with holes, so Garrison detains him for further questioning. And Ferrie asks why and Garrison replies "Dave I find your story simply not believable!" and Ferrie appears surprised and says "Really?! What part?".
And then there is Pesci's best scene in the film where Ferrie in a state of panic and paranoia nervously paces a hotel room where Garrison and his men keep him after a newspaper article is released impliacting Ferrie. And in the scene Ferrie babbles saying "But who the fuck pulls who's chain?! Who the fuck knows? "Oh what a deadly web we weave and we practice to decieve!". And Garrison asks him who killed the president which sets off Ferrie into a demented rant "Oh why don't you fuckin stop it?! This is too fuckin big for you, you know that?! Who killed Kennedy... fuck man! Its a mystery, its a riddle wrapped inside an enigma! The fuckin shooters don't even know it, don't you get it?! Fuck, man! I can't go on talking like this, they'll fuckin kill me! I'm gonna fuckin die!". And Ferrie goes on to lament about how he wanted to become a catholic priest but was defrocked because of his homosexuality and he sits back saying "I'm so fucking exhausted I can't see straight!".
Tommy Lee Jones gives an excellent performance also as Clay Shaw, and he depicts as a very sly businessman, who is clearly also very manipulative and Jones appears to revel in playing up the transparent villainous qualities of the character. And in his best and main scene Jones refutes every accusation that Garrison makes at him as he keeps asking if he met with David Ferrie or Oswald and Shaw is aghast and says "You really have me assorting with a sordid cast of characters!". And then he says "I am a businessman and like all businessmen I am accussed of all things!" and later when Garrison accusses him of considering an act of patriotism to kill the president Shaw says "Now just wait a minute, sir, you are way out of line!" before wrapping up the meeting and mysteriously the next day, the cover is blown on Garrison's investigation. Another good moment Jones has is during the scene when Willy O'Keefe recalls to Garrison a meeting Willy had with Shaw, Oswald and Ferrie, where Ferrie conspires to kill Kennedy and suggests how they could do it. And Shaw says to Ferrie "What don't we drop this subject. Its one thing to engage in banter with these youngsters, but this sort of thing can get so easily misunderstood!" before crushing Ferrie's testicles for his disobedience!
The other smaller character roles are equally impressive, with fine stuff from Michael Rooker as Bill (one of Garrison's staff). Rooker also has some good moments, the main one being when he tries to reason with Garrison that he is taking the wrong route and suggests the mob was behind the assassination, which Garrison dismisses. And Bill get's fed up and says before leaving the office "This is Louisiana, chief! I mean how the hell do you know who your daddy is??! Because your momma told you so! You are way out there taking a crap in the wind, boss! And I am for one not goin along on this one!". Of course in the director's cut of the film, Bill ends up betraying Garrison and also steals some of his files and we also see him be coerced by a government agent earlier aswell.
Laurie Metcalf as Susie, another staff member, is also very good and she has some good moments in the film, the main one being where Garrison's team meet for lunch and she goes over the file history of Oswald's character and background. Laurie has some good moments as well such as the scene where Susie meets with Garrison and the other team members for lunch and she reads out all the info she has on Oswald. And she says to the others "I've got his grammar school records. Its a study of his pubic hairs!" as well as revealing her anxiety over how a spy aircraft was shot down and maybe someone didn't want the peace conference between the Russians and the Americans. And Susie says to the others "I can't help but think that someone in our military didn't want the conference to happen. Maybe Oswald was a part of that!". And later on Metcalf has another good moment where she says to Bill, who has been gotten to by the Government at this point (unawares to Garrison) "Jesus Bill, don't you have enough proof of the FBI's complicity yet?!!".
And of course Jay Sanders is also excellent as Lou Barnes, who was in reality one of Garrison's key members of staff (although the film depicts Barnes as quitting the investigation, according to Stone in his DVD commentary in reality he didn't). Sanders also has some good moments such as the scene where Lou and Garrison are at the book despository building with the rifle that Oswald used and he does a demo of firing and reload the empty rifle and he goes over the specifics of the improbabilities of Oswald being able to pull off three precise shots. And Lou says "I mean this is the whole essence of the case to me. The guy couldn't do the shooting!". And later on when Lou demands to Garrison that he can no longer work with Bill because he doesn't trust he says "I cannot work with Bill Broussard anymore" and when Garrison asks if he is giving him an ultimatum, Lou says "Well if that's what you wanna cal it?! Hell I never thought it would come to this. I guess I am". And Garrison says "I won't have any damn ultimatum put to me, Lou. I'll accept your resignation" and Lou says "Well you sure got it! You are one stubborn son of a bitch! And you are making one hell of a mistake".
Also Kevin Bacon, is excellent as Willie O'Keefe (who in reality was based on one of Garrison's key witnesses, Perry Russo) the gay prostitute who claimed to have known and had sexual relations with Shaw. And Bacon's main scene is quite impressive where Willie recalls meeting Oswald and his involvement with Shaw and Ferrie. And as Garrison asks Willie if he will testify and if he does what he says will be attacked by different people and Willie dismisses it and says "Oh bring all those motherfuckers on in here with their college degrees! I've got nothing to hide! You know this about the truth coming out! You goddamn liberal, Mr Garrison, you don't know shit because you never been fucked in the ass! This is about order! Who rules!". And he finishes his scene with Garrison walking off with Bill and as they do Willie shouts out "You know you ain't a bad looking man, Mr Garrison. Not bad lookin at all! When I get out, I'll come see you, we can have some fun!".
Sissy Spacek is also very good in her role as Garrison's with Liz, who has to suffer her husband's obssessions with the JFK case throughout the film. And Sissy's best scene comes when Liz argues with Garrison and she says to him "I just want to raise our children in a normal world and I want my life back!".
Donald Sutherland is similarly great as the mysterious "X" who delivers a very lengthy 17 minute dialogue giving Garrison the background info surrounding the events leading up to the assassination. And Sutherland's monologue is so long is hard to pick some examples, but I think his last few lines are great where he encourages Garrison to carry on with his case. And as Garrison says he hasn't much of a case, X says "You don't have a choice anymore. You've become a significant threat to the national security structure! They would have killed you already but you've got alot of light on you. Instead they are trying to destroy your credibility. Be honest, your only chance is to come up with a case. Something, anything! Make arrests, stir the shit storm, hope to reach a point of critical mass that will start a chain reaction of people coming forward then the government will crack. Remember, fundamentall people are suckers for the truth, and the truth is on your side, Bubba. I just hope you get a break".
Also there is the superb Jack Lemmon as Jack Martin, an assistant to a private eye detective, Guy Banister, who is great in his role as the down and out drunk, who Garrison approaches earlier on in the film. And Jack tells Garrison what happened in Guy's office during the summer of 63, but he becomes instantly panicked when Garrison mentions the assassination and starts to leave. And Garrison asks what is the problem and Jack says "Do I have to spell it out for you, Mr Garrison?!" and Garrisons no one knows what they are talking about and Jack stares at him in disbelief saying "You are so niave!".
And Ed Asner is also good in his brief role as Guy Banister the private eye, who was a former FBI man and was said to be closely linked to behind the scenes of the assassination, but Banister died shortly after in 1964. Asner has a couple of good scenes, particularly his first scene where he cheers Kennedy's death and he says "All this blubbing over that no count son of a bitch! They're balling like they knew the man!". John Candy is also great in his role as the sleazy lawyer, Dean Andrews who apparently met with Oswald and spoke with Shaw but he refutes any claims that he knows the identity of Shaw who used the alias of Clay Bertrand. And at the end of the scene Dean says "You're crazy as your mama! Goes to show its in the genes! You any idea what you're getting yourself into, Daddio?! The government is gonna jump all over your head, Jimbo, and go cocka-doodle-doo! Good day to your, sir!".
And last but by no means least, there is Gary Oldman as Lee Harvey Oswald. Oldman is great as Oswald, and potrays him as a complex and private man, who remained a mystery even after his death. Gary Oldman also facially resembles Oswald a fair bit, and does an excellent job at reproducing his unusual American accent, which had a tinge of Russian to it. And during the film Oldman quotes alot of the dialogue taken from Oswald's public arrest on TV as he says to the press that "I didn't shoot anyone, no sir. They have taken me in just because I defected to the Soviet union. I am just a patsy!".
DIRECTOR AND MUSIC
So FINALLY getting onto the director paragraph, Oliver Stone does a terrific job here and he keeps the viewer engrossed throughout as he presents the film's arguments in a very convincing fashion and he also makes great use of some frantic camera work as he combines a mixture of black and white footage and colour mixed in with the film itself. Stone's screenplay is also a great achievement in itself as it is very intelligent and well researched for the most part although it does create some composite characters based on real life witnesses so there might be the odd bit of licence taken here and there.
And lastly I can't forget to mention John William's terrific film score (who also previously worked with Stone on Born on the 4th of July) which is both suspenseful and atmopsheric throughout and features many excellent tracks, particularly the main theme. And Williams score has been mimicked in other film scores as well (such as in Tom Cruise's thriller, The Firm) and it remains as one of his more unique scores.
FLAWS
So does JFK have any flaws????? Well JFK does have the odd niggle or two for starters I feel the film verges on bombarding you with too much information at times, so it definitely takes a few viewings to get the gist of all the details. This is especially the case as Stone tries to condense down the details of the trial and Garrison's investigations into three hours which makes taking it all in within that space of time even more difficult in one viewing.
And another thing I would say about the film that probably lets it down slightly is the melodrama of Garrison's home life, as he argues with his wife Elizabeth (Sissy Spacek) who is frustrated by the amount of time he devotes to the case. And in the film Spacek pretty much delivers samey lines such as "Before Kennedy nothing mattered more in this world to you than your children!" and "What about your kids, Jim?!!!" and "Jasper was looking for you, bawling his little eyes out!" etc. It is however key to the film as well I guess, as it is important to show how the events of the investigation impacted on Garrison's personal life, and later in reality, his first wife Elizabeth did divorce him.
Another slight problem with the film, and probably the case in general is there is not much evidence that cold links Shaw to knowing Oswald, as it ultimately is just the word of people who have witnessed seeing Shaw and Oswald together in the past with not much if any in the way of photographic evidence or otherwise. But it was later revealed in 1978, four years after Shaw's death, by the at the time CIA director, Richard Helms, that Shaw did actually work for the CIA as a contractor (this is added in as insert at the end of the film). And based on the Richard Helms testimony, it proved that Shaw was guilty of perjury. But people of power and persuasion like Shaw, can as it seems get away with murder (or assassination in this case).
The film also seems to do its damndest to imply the current govenrment's complicity at the time of the trial as well by showing an irate judge who keeps overruling and telling off Garrison at every turn. It pretty much stops short of saying to the audience "Yeah the government is in on it!" as to back up how Garrison (SPOILER SORRY!!!!) went on to lose the trial in the film (and also in reality) in the face of a seemingly corrupt government hellbent on covering its tracks.
Perhaps also at times due to the film's long running time certain scenes can slow the pace down a bit as there is so much information to sift through. Also given the amount of leads Garrison had to follow up, the film also throws up a number of leads that really lead to nowhere (especially the showgirl one whom Garrison and Lou meet with) until of course Garrison meets up with the mysterious "X" who tells him key information regarding the background of the events that lay behind the assassination.
And last of all another problem with the film comes in the scene when Garrison and Lou go to the book depository where Oswald allegedly shot from. And in the scene Garrison refers to Clay Shaw in an incriminatory way but in the next scene one of Garrison's team, Bill, reveals that Clay Shaw's alias is Clay Bertrand and in that scene Garrison reacts with surprise as if he didn't know that Clay Shaw had any alleged involvement in the conspiracy but in the depository scene he does! So this remains one of the film's rare pieces of poor continuity but when you watch those two scenes it really does stick out.
Anyway that's it for the flaws.
SUM UP
So that is it for my re-re-look at the J.F.K which remains personally as one of my favourite films and one of the best films of the 1990s and for me Oliver Stone's best film to date. The film is lengthy of course and it would be impossible to take in all the info it throws at you in one go but its a film that warrants repeated viewing. It also has a fine central performance from Kevin Costner, and a top cast backing him up as well as a great screenplay and music score by John Williams. And it remains one of the most compelling and engrossing dramas you will ever likely to see.
So on that note I shall bid yees all goodnight!
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