Highly political

Rating: Null/10 (6 October 2004)

JFK is a film about the events surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 1963. Attorney Jim Garrison isn't satisfied by the federal government's explanation on the events, and starts his own case on the assassination. What he finds is something more horrible than he could ever imagine.
Oliver Stone's JFK is an interesting film on many levels, firstly for the fact that it ever got made at all. The book is based on the testimony of District Attorney Jim Garrison on the conspiracy theory surrounding the Kennedy assassination. It's a miracle this book was written at all if everything in it is true as there were government officials from the CIA to the FBI who would be more than happy to silence Mr. Garrison permanently. It's this aspect of Garrison's life that the film partly explores, as he struggles to build up a case against Clay Shaw whilst trying to raise a family and remain a dutiful husband, all the while dealing with attempts on his life and being slaughtered by the media.
Secondly, the film is interesting for the fact that it was released by a major Hollywood studio, as the material is not what you might call "gentle". This is a hardcore attack on the U.S. government, including, among others, ex-president Lyndon Johnson and the CIA. It's not the sort of thing a studio releases lightly, which is why I give credit to Warner Bros. for taking such a huge risk, and also to the actors who appeared in it. I expected a whole lot of uncredited roles for actors who might fear outrage because of appearing in such a political movie, but everyone was credited.
Speaking of actors, all the performances in this film were excellent. Everyone including Kevin Costner (who gives the performance of his career), Joe Pesci, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Vincent D'Onofrio, Sissy Spacek, Donald Sutherland, Jack Lemmon and Michael infest their performances with heart and emotion. The finale of Garrison's speech at the end is one of the most heart-breaking moments in film history. See JFK.
9/10