One of the best movies ever made

Rating: 10/10 (12 June 2004)

Whether you buy Stone´s theory regarding the murder of JFK or not, this is one of the best movies ever made. The Director´s Cut runs for 3 hours and 17 minutes and Stone never lets go of your attention during those 3+ hours. I have read neither Garrissons nor Prouty´s books, but it´s an amazing amount of facts that are squeezed into these 3 short hours.
The momentum of this movie is outstanding. Dramaturgically it´s one of the best movies I have ever seen, much due to the amazing editing by Academy Award winners Joe Hutshing and Pietro Scalia. The structure of timelayers feels almost like a cubist painting by Picasso where you´re able to see every dimension at the same time.
Another well deserved Oscar went to one of my favourite cinematographers of all time, Bob Richardson. Similar to Natural Born Killers, another Stone-Richardson collaboration among many, he plays with various filmstocks and formats, fooling your eye to the extent that the re-enactment of JFK´s murder feels almost documentary. The overhead lighting at Antoine´s Restaurant, the shifts and fades when Garrison is reading the Warren Report, the use of light hot-spots giving you that white "fuzz".... The list goes on and on.
The cast is flawless. This is really an ensemble movies although Costner, who´s never been better before or since, is the major star. The movie benefits from not being packed with A-list stars, which I believe would have reduced the sense of "reality". It feels as if Oldman was born to play Lee Harvey Oswald. Pesci delivers, as always. I get just as frustrated with Rooker´s character every time I see the movie, a perfect casting.
As was not surprised when this movie did not win the Academy Award for Best Movie, since it´s far to politically incorrect for Hollywood´s taste. But for the life of me, I can´t understand how they could overlook Stone´s directing.
This movie is a definite must-see.