An alternative to the Warren Report

Rating: 10/10 (21 July 1999)

No one is saying that this film is exactly what happened on Nov. 22nd 1963. Nobody is saying that this is the solution to the great mystery, but what Stone is saying is that this is one possible alternative to one of the grossest lies ever told to the American people and the rest of the world. People that attack this film and dismiss it for being propoganda are missing the point. If this is propoganda, then what the hell is the Warren Report that says that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone? A comic strip?
Forget politics for just one second and just look at the beauty of this film. Because that is one thing that is lost in all the politics of this film, we forget what a truly incredible work of art this is. You will never find a film that is better acted, better photographed, better directed or edited than this. You can't. This film is perfection on every level that is film. Now you can believe what you want to believe, but what you can't deny is how the film makes you feel. And for me, it made me mad that a crime like this could be committed. Is there really anyone out there that really thinks that LHO could really fire off three shots that quickly, 5.6 seconds with the acuracy that he did? Does anyone not find it strange that the final head shot caused his head to go back and to the left, not down and to the right ( which would happen if he was shot from the book depository )? We all know the inconsistencies with the case that are quite factual, the ones that are not embellished by Stone. Kennedy's brain did disappear, the limo was ordered clean so that evidence was impossible to come by. The parade route was changed, the protective bubble was removed, a proper sweep of the area was not conducted. People's testimonies were altered on FBI reports, David Ferry lied to Garrison, the Warren report was run by guys that Kennedy had once fired, suspicious deaths of people that testified in the Warren Report happened frequently, and the magic bullet theory is impossible. Seven wounds, one bullet, that is quite impossible. So if you take into account all that is irrefutable about the case and the movie, why do so many people get mad when an alternative theory is presented. Surely no one really buys into the Warren Report. Do they? How about Oswald being shot by David Ferry? Too many strange things surrounding this case for it to be closed as easily as it was. So now Stone comes along and has a different theory, a brave one, and people critisize him for it. Well at least he and Garrison were willing to look in other corners for the truth. Someone had to try.
To talk of the film in parts is futile because there is not one part of this film that lacks. The ensemble cast from Costner as Garrison, to John Candy as Dino, to Joe Pesci as a overly hyper David Ferry to Kevin Bacon as a Willy O' Keefe who thinks that Mr. Garrison is a good looking man, down to Michael Rooker, Wayne Knight, Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones, Jack Lemon, Walter Mathau, Donald Sutherland and Gary Oldman, every performance in here is remarkable. They make you feel like you know these characters. What Oliver Stone has done here is make one of the greatest if not the greatest motion picture I have ever seen. I still believe that Jaws is the best ever, but JFK is a close second. Except for it's politics, this film is not open for discussion in terms of how good a MOVIE it is. Strictly on a film level, the film is flawless.
Finally, there is one shot in this film that I think is the greatest shot ever in the history of the movies. At the very end of Garrison's speech, he says the words " It's up to you." And as he does, the camera gets level with his eyes, so that he is now speaking with every person that watched this film. And it is up to us to make the decision. Are we going to swallow all that we have been fed by the government over the years, or are we going to accept the fact that there is more to the story that what the Warren Report says there is? Maybe not Stone's version, but something. At least give Stone credit, he is the only one really brave enough to tackle something like this and live to tell about it. I'd love to see more films like this that question our government. Because they make you think. And that is always a good thing.
Oliver Stone has made an incredible film and it is one that should be watched at least once by everyone, especially by young people that don't know much about the case or the assassination. I was 19 when this film came out. I saw it and it changed my life. It made me open my eyes to lies and deceit that our government is capable of doing. And that is not reserved to the American government, it could be the Canadian, Australian, German whatever. It is important to question the official version of what is fed to us. And if you dig a little deeper, you will see there is always an alternative to what they want you to believe. This film opened my eyes to that. And I am a better person because of it.