For a number of years, I have taught a course on the JFK assassination at a major American university. I was extremely interested in "The Kennedys" miniseries, as its narrative follows the exact plan of the course I have taught, spanning the presidency of John F. Kennedy, the significant role played by Robert F. Kennedy, and the assassinations of the two brothers.
As it turns out, this review is mixed, and the major reservation has nothing to do with the prurient content or the portrayal of the personal flaws of JFK. The main problem is with the research that went into the teleplay, especially the treatment of the assassination of JFK.
To be fair, the miniseries was successful in its production values, especially in costume design. Visually, the film ranks alongside many of the fine HBO historical miniseries, including "John Adams," which I have reviewed on this website.
According to some media accounts, the script was prepared as a right-wing tract. This criticism is completely inaccurate, as "The Kennedys" takes great pains to point out how President Kennedy challenged the top brass at the Pentagon when the young president was pressured to ramp up the Cold War. The film also informs viewers how JFK personally appointed Abraham Bolden as the first African-American secret service agent, and did so against the ironclad will of a number of racist secret service agents. Bolden even becomes a recurring character in the miniseries to the very end of the film. Episode #6 gives more credit to JFK for a civil rights platform than partisan Kennedy historians have conceded. The portrayal of the presidency of John F. Kennedy in this miniseries was balanced and fair-minded, particularly in JFK's search for world peace at the height of the Cold War.
The acting in this film was not merely a surprise, but in three cases, a revelation. The three standout performers were Greg Kinnear as JFK; Tom Wilkinson as Joseph P. Kennedy; and Katie Holmes as Jackie Kennedy. (While Katie was unsuccessful in capturing the breathy voice of Jackie, this actress nonetheless had a luminous presence and uncanny physical resemblance to the iconic First Lady.) But the most memorable performance is that of Kinnear, who undoubtedly worked tirelessly on both the voice and physical mannerisms of JFK. If this film gains wider release, Greg Kinnear will eventually be credited with the performance of a lifetime.
The riveting performances were supported by a superb design team, with meticulous attention to hair styling and period wardrobe. Special kudos are in order for the production designer Rocco Matteo, along with the costume specialists. This film has the look of a feature film, not a television miniseries.
The principal downfall of the miniseries was in ignoring the facts about the assassination of JFK. The lack of research and apparent ignorance of the recent scholarship on the assassination were painfully apparent in this film. The majority of Americans still do not believe the findings of the Warren Commission. Inexplicably, "The Kennedys" recycled the same implausible scenario of Lee Harvey Oswald executing an impossible bolt-action shooting feat and doing so without a motive. Even Oswald's famous words "I'm just a patsy" were not included in the film's portrayal of the assassination.
How is it conceivable that the filmmakers would include SS agent Abraham Bolden in the film, and then completely ignore Bolden's book, "The Echo From Dealey Plaza"? In this memoir, Bolden recounts Secret Service complicity in the death of JFK. When Bolden attempted to testify before the Warren Commission, he was incarcerated, sedated, and isolated in a cell for years. It was not until 2008 that Bolden finally told his story. Such recent books as David Talbot's "Brothers", James Douglass's "JFK and the Unspeakable," and James Fetzer's "Murder in Dealey Plaza—What We Know Now That We Didn't Know Then" would have offered a template for the entire miniseries. These books are not propagating new assassination "theories," but offering hard evidence, including the use of modern forensic science, in which American citizens can learn what happened to our country on November 22, 1963.
As we are approaching the fiftieth anniversary of the death of President Kennedy, this miniseries had potential to seize the moment and provide millions of viewers with new perspectives on two extraordinary Americans, who gave their lives to the ideals of our country. This story is only complete with an understanding of the circumstances surrounding the deaths of these two great Americans. An entitlement of our future generations is to know the truth about their past. Unfortunately, the truth about the assassination was not high on the agenda of the writers and producers of "The Kennedys."
As it turns out, this review is mixed, and the major reservation has nothing to do with the prurient content or the portrayal of the personal flaws of JFK. The main problem is with the research that went into the teleplay, especially the treatment of the assassination of JFK.
To be fair, the miniseries was successful in its production values, especially in costume design. Visually, the film ranks alongside many of the fine HBO historical miniseries, including "John Adams," which I have reviewed on this website.
According to some media accounts, the script was prepared as a right-wing tract. This criticism is completely inaccurate, as "The Kennedys" takes great pains to point out how President Kennedy challenged the top brass at the Pentagon when the young president was pressured to ramp up the Cold War. The film also informs viewers how JFK personally appointed Abraham Bolden as the first African-American secret service agent, and did so against the ironclad will of a number of racist secret service agents. Bolden even becomes a recurring character in the miniseries to the very end of the film. Episode #6 gives more credit to JFK for a civil rights platform than partisan Kennedy historians have conceded. The portrayal of the presidency of John F. Kennedy in this miniseries was balanced and fair-minded, particularly in JFK's search for world peace at the height of the Cold War.
The acting in this film was not merely a surprise, but in three cases, a revelation. The three standout performers were Greg Kinnear as JFK; Tom Wilkinson as Joseph P. Kennedy; and Katie Holmes as Jackie Kennedy. (While Katie was unsuccessful in capturing the breathy voice of Jackie, this actress nonetheless had a luminous presence and uncanny physical resemblance to the iconic First Lady.) But the most memorable performance is that of Kinnear, who undoubtedly worked tirelessly on both the voice and physical mannerisms of JFK. If this film gains wider release, Greg Kinnear will eventually be credited with the performance of a lifetime.
The riveting performances were supported by a superb design team, with meticulous attention to hair styling and period wardrobe. Special kudos are in order for the production designer Rocco Matteo, along with the costume specialists. This film has the look of a feature film, not a television miniseries.
The principal downfall of the miniseries was in ignoring the facts about the assassination of JFK. The lack of research and apparent ignorance of the recent scholarship on the assassination were painfully apparent in this film. The majority of Americans still do not believe the findings of the Warren Commission. Inexplicably, "The Kennedys" recycled the same implausible scenario of Lee Harvey Oswald executing an impossible bolt-action shooting feat and doing so without a motive. Even Oswald's famous words "I'm just a patsy" were not included in the film's portrayal of the assassination.
How is it conceivable that the filmmakers would include SS agent Abraham Bolden in the film, and then completely ignore Bolden's book, "The Echo From Dealey Plaza"? In this memoir, Bolden recounts Secret Service complicity in the death of JFK. When Bolden attempted to testify before the Warren Commission, he was incarcerated, sedated, and isolated in a cell for years. It was not until 2008 that Bolden finally told his story. Such recent books as David Talbot's "Brothers", James Douglass's "JFK and the Unspeakable," and James Fetzer's "Murder in Dealey Plaza—What We Know Now That We Didn't Know Then" would have offered a template for the entire miniseries. These books are not propagating new assassination "theories," but offering hard evidence, including the use of modern forensic science, in which American citizens can learn what happened to our country on November 22, 1963.
As we are approaching the fiftieth anniversary of the death of President Kennedy, this miniseries had potential to seize the moment and provide millions of viewers with new perspectives on two extraordinary Americans, who gave their lives to the ideals of our country. This story is only complete with an understanding of the circumstances surrounding the deaths of these two great Americans. An entitlement of our future generations is to know the truth about their past. Unfortunately, the truth about the assassination was not high on the agenda of the writers and producers of "The Kennedys."