Pretty good drama, but...

Rating: Null/10 (6 December 2000)

While I was watching "Thirteen Days" I could not help comparing it to "JFK" for obvious reasons. What peeved me was watching Kevin Costner hero-worship JFK in so blatant a fashion. In more than one instance in the movie, it was apparent that Costner was trying very hard to shove his perspective, probably not on the actual events but on the people involved, down our throats. His character seems to voice Costner's opinion, about the "greatness" of the Kennedy brothers. I also did not see the reason to show so many shots of the trio (the Kennedy brothers and O'Donnell) together, to, what I can only assume, establish how close they were. A couple of shots would have made the point, but there were just too many of them.
Apart from these minor points, the movie itself made very good watching. It was as good a drama as any I've seen in recent times and definitely on par with the other big presidential drama this season, "The Contender". The director makes good use of the camera, switching from B/W to Colour to emphasise the mood very effectively. The scenes showing the Washington big shots discussing the scenario were directed so well that you cannot fail to feel the pressure these guys were in. The internal politics, the attempts at manoeuvring the President into a corner (sometimes literally!), the negotiations - you even forget that that the movie has a happy ending which you know!
Definitely worth a watch.