this is the definition of tiring, not tiresome

Rating: 7/10 (24 April 2006)

I saw JFK recently on tape in a period of about five days and I cannot imagine how I sat in a theater for the entire length of it, which I did when the film first came out. What I found particularly tiring and grating were the fake Southern accents, many as embarrassing of Vivian Leigh's in "Gone..". The story itself and the message I believe would have been more effective with less hysterical cutting and flash backs which detracted immensely from any sense of reality and continuity. I know the effect aimed at was in part the insanity of those involved in this sad chapter of American history, but making the narrative so shapeless is not the best way to achieve historical reconstruction by aesthetic means. Still, the film is a unique achievement and an act of courage.