An unrelenting search for the truth

Rating: 9/10 (7 February 2013)

I have watched Oliver Stone's JFK several times now, and after every viewing I quickly jump on-line and type into Google 3 simple words - 'Who Killed JFK'. After watching 3 hours of Kevin Costner and his team searching high and low for the truth behind the supposed conspiracy that led to JFK's assassination, I am always left with more questions than answers. This film compels me to look further for the answers. This film makes me angry that the whole truth is still not fully known – and I'm an Australian!
Simply, JFK is a 'who-done-it', police procedural, thriller of the highest order. It is pure entertainment, with fine performances and a director that is clearly in love with his work. But it is much more than that.
The power this film has wielded since its release has been well documented. Oliver Stone's JFK has proved to be not only riveting entertainment, but a persuasive tool in influencing US legislation. The reception to this film led to the formation of the U.S. Assassination Records Review Board. So I'm not the only one this film compels to search further for answers...
Just as the road to the truth in JFK is fraught with stubborn resistance, so too was the making of JFK. Oliver Stone's movie was lambasted by some critics for supposedly re-writing history with trouble making, speculative fiction. This started before the film was even released. But, I don't believe Stone is being definitive with the conclusions he delivers here, but rather offers viewers an alternative to Lee Harvey Oswald, the lone assassin. The proportion of fact to fiction in the film is up for debate, but as time passes, I believe that the percentage of fact is proving to be ever increasing.
The film is based on the book by former New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison, who, played by Kevin Costner, becomes the films hero and catalyst. Costner's Garrison is genuine but bland. However, he is also stubbornly determined enough to propel the film towards its resolution. Garrison initially investigates New Orleans based links to the assassination that leads him to uncover his bigger conspiracy picture. He and his team track down the various 'bad guy' players. Amongst others, Joe Pesci plays David Ferrie, a ground level manic militant ringleader, with a frenetic mouth, even by Pesci standards. Tommy Lee Jones plays Clay Shaw (if that is his real name), a homosexual corporate type with an unflinching gravitas. And Gary Oldman shows us a frighteningly cold Oswald.
Garrison gets help along the way from his New Orleans team of lawyers and investigators, and from Donald Sutherland, who with such little screen time manages to spew out more conspiracy theories than the entire Mel Gibson film Conspiracy Theory, whilst portraying a shady high level source reminiscent of 'deep throat' in All the President's Men. Other memorable performances are provided by Kevin Bacon, Walther Matthau and Jack Lemon, who all supply key morsels of information and puzzle pieces.
JFK is also a film editing master-class, incorporating real documentary footage into the mix at every opportunity, and managing to implant a mountain of facts into the viewers mind. This is all done whilst keeping up a rapid pace, nothing akin to a documentary at all. We are led at this rapid pace, with all the facts in hand, to the final courtroom scene where Garrison lays his theory on the line. I must admit, even given all the evidence Garrison uses to back up his case, I can't help but feel that it is all a bit thin. There is still too much speculative logic to have me convinced in his case. In saying this, I am certainly not convinced that his case is untrue.