Important movie, but a movie, nonetheless

Rating: 8/10 (4 December 1999)

JFK is probably one of the most important movies to have come out in a long time. Not because it tells the truth of the Kennedy-assassination (who can purport to do that?), but because it alerts people to the mysteries surrounding the murder of JFK. The movie cannot be said to tell a true story; indeed the weaving together of fact and fiction is a dangerous path, because some people may believe that the movie is *the* truth.
Nevertheless, for people who are aware of the problems concerning the investigation into Kennedy's assassination, the film is an interesting summing-up of the major theories, concerning the reasons for and perpetrators of Kennedy's murder. Sometimes the movie does go a bit overboard (the implication of LBJ to me seems to be unfounded), but overall it remains quite truthful to most of the theories.
Personally I believe that Kennedy was the victim of assassination. I've done quite a bit of reading on the subject, and far from being able to tell "the truth", I do believe that Jim Garrison was onto something, and the Garrison-theories still seem to me like the most likely.

For people who are aware of the ethical problems of weaving together documentary footage and fictional film as Stone does, JFK is a great movie to sum up the major theories about the Kennedy-assassination. For those who aren't aware of these problems, the movie is dangerous in its manipulation of "the truth".