Review
Parkland
Movie Review
Director | Peter Landesman | |
Starring | Paul Giamatti, Billy Bob Thornton, Zac Efron, Colin Hanks, Ron Livingston, James Badge Dale, Marcia Gay Haden | |
Release | 4 OCT (US) 22 NOV (UK) Certificate 15 |
Rob Young
18th November 2013
The assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22nd 1963 is still a source of huge debate. As the 50th anniversary approaches, investigative journalist-turned director Peter Landesman cares not for conspiracy theories, second gunmen, magic bullets, grassy knolls or book depositories. Instead, he's just happy to brag about how much more he knows about JFK than we do.
Parkland plays out like an exercise for Landesman to proudly reel off trivia about the JFK assassination that we might not have otherwise known. Did you know the same doctors who tried to save JFK's life were responsible for trying to revive Lee Harvey Oswald just two days later? Ever hear about the scuffle The Secret Service had with the Dallas Police Department over the possession of the body? How about the fact they had to frantically remove a row of seats and tear down an inner wall of Air Force One to get the coffin in? Landesman seems more preoccupied to shoehorn in his four years' worth of findings rather than actually tell an engaging story.
Like Emilio Estevez's 2006 film Bobby, this film tells the story from multiple perspectives, studying those immediately involved: doctors, nurses, the FBI, the Secret Service, the police, the amateur cameraman Abraham Zapruder (Paul Giamatti), and even Lee Harvey Oswald's mother (Jacki Weaver) and brother (James Badge Dale). There's no place for Oliver Stone-like conspiracy theories here; instead, Landesman keeps it simple, sticks to the facts and focuses on the immediate aftermath. As a result, it serves as a soft, uncontroversial antidote to Oliver Stone's JFK – albeit a response some 22 years later.
With an impressive ensemble cast - perhaps seduced more by the subject matter than the script – many of the stars are left to jostle for screen time. The constant flow of familiar faces becomes distracting as you're left wondering where you recognise them from. Meanwhile, the likes of Billy Bob Thornton, playing Secret Service Agent Forrest Sorrels spends most of his time yelling "THIS SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED!"
In a busy line-up, James Badge Dale and Paul Giamatti have the most to do. Playing Robert Oswald, Badge Dale has the biggest character arc as Lee Harvey's shocked brother. One scene where he asks a group of prying journalists to help carry his brother's coffin is especially heart-wrenching. Had the film been brave enough to tell the story from the point of view of the Oswalds, maybe you'd see a fourth star up top. As the amateur cameraman Abraham Zapruder, who captured the entire event and became the owner of the most studied piece of film in history, Giamatti conveys the right mix of emotion and hysteria.
But this is Peter Landesman's first film, and it shows. The cast do the best with what they've got but they're working from a one-dimensional script crammed with dialogue that feels forced, unnatural and over-the-top. And worst of all, the pace is all over the place. While the day of the shooting takes up the bulk of the film, the following three days feel like an afterthought. Almost moulding into one, the result feels rushed, making it appear Lee Harvey Oswald was shot, died and buried all on the same day.
Parkland is a powerful, extremely ambitious, well-researched debut film, and does a solid job of not getting bogged down in conspiracies. But it can't shake that feeling of a made-for-TV drama made to cash in on the fiftieth anniversary. There's a definitive JFK assassination film somewhere, but this isn't it.
Support Us
Follow Us
Recent Highlights
-
Review: Jackass Forever is a healing balm for our bee-stung ballsack world
Movie Review
-
Review: Black Widow adds shades of grey to the most interesting Avenger
Movie Review
-
Review: Fast & Furious 9 is a bloodless blockbuster Scalextric
Movie Review
-
Review: Wonder Woman 1984 is here to remind you about idiot nonsense cinema
Movie Review
-
Review: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm arrives on time, but is it too little, or too much?
Movie Review
Advertisement
And The Rest
-
Review: The Creator is high-end, low-tech sci-fi with middling ambitions
Movie Review
-
Review: The Devil All The Time explores the root of good ol' American evil
Movie Review
-
Review: I'm Thinking Of Ending Things is Kaufman at his most alienating
Movie Review
-
Review: The Babysitter: Killer Queen is a sequel that's stuck in the past
Movie Review
-
Review: The Peanut Butter Falcon is more than a silly nammm peanut butter
Movie Review
-
Face The Music: The Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey soundtrack is most outstanding
Movie Feature
-
Review: Tenet once again shows that Christopher Nolan is ahead of his time
Movie Review
-
Review: Project Power hits the right beats but offers nothing new
Movie Review
-
Marvel's Cine-CHAT-ic Universe: Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Movie Feature
-
Review: Host is a techno-horror that dials up the scares
Movie Review