Parkland
Unable (and unwilling) to escape the hype of the 50th
anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, I couldn't wait to see
Parkland, an hour-by-hour account of what happened to various individuals who
were directly impacted on the day’s events. There are some good performances,
but, overall, is a screenplay that just isn't up to its subject.
The neat stuff that assassination nerds will be interested
in is done well. Abraham Zapruder’s (Paul Giamatti) reaction as he films away is
startling. The young resident (Zac Ephron) who must act first when the
president’s body reaches the ER at Parkland Memorial Hospital leaves us with
the sense of unprepared hopelessness that must have overcome the actual doctor
on that day. Billy Bob Thornton is the secret service agent trying to keep the
crisis from turning into something worse. But the best part of the film is the
previously noted best-actor-in-an-obscure-yet-pivotal-role James Badge Dale as
Robert Oswald, the shooter’s (?) brother who must now contend with the lifelong
infamy.
One of the more touching scenes belongs to Giamatti as he
negotiates with the folks from Life magazine for his film. His chief concern is
preserving the president’s dignity. (In
fact, the film was never shown in public while Zapruder was alive.) Too bad the
filmmakers weren't similarly inclined. They spend too much time with too many
stories and never tell us much about what they think it all means, nor give us
much to draw our own conclusions.
Graciously, they skipped nightclub owner Jack Ruby’s story
although I wonder if it simply wasn't cut out. In so doing, they scrimp on the
main figures, with forgettable faces (Jackie, LBJ, Oswald) in key historic
roles. Watching this film, one might never know that Texas Governor John
Connally was also seriously wounded.
The historic bits reproduced include the well-known and
literal tug-o-war over the casket containing the 35th president
between members of the Secret Service and the Dallas coroner’s personnel. With
armed police in route, the agents spirit the president’s body back to Love
Field for a hasty departure. Another nice touch is the actor portraying the
priest who gives last rights.
Abraham Zapruder (Paul Giamatti) makes movie history.
All in all, this film offers little that is new and will be
of little interest to folks who aren’t JFK assassination nerds, like me. This is the kind of film you might watch once
on a dreary day when there’s not much else on, but I doubt you’d watch it a
second time. Paul Giamatti, excellent as usual, saves this from being a total
flop and that’s why I’m giving it one Wilder out of four.
This week’s
Overlooked Film of Significance: The
House of Yes is a macabre examination of the cult of personality that surrounds
the days of Camelot.
