I finished watching all 8 episodes which I feel is a must to properly review a production. Trying to do it after only one episode is not fair to it.
That being said, I found this series very interesting and highly enjoyable, yet sad. I grew up in the 50's and well remember everything about the Kennedys, the myths and the truths. It is impossible to cram everything about this large family into just 8 hours, but this did a pretty good job with the main points. I don't feel they played that loose with the historical facts because it is impossible to know everything about what happened in the inner sanctum of that great family.
I do know that Greg Kinnear did a remarkable job as John, to the point where I believed he was truly John and had to remind myself he wasn't at times. Katie Holmes did a very good job with Jackie considering she was a private woman who was rarely seen outside of her official role, so not a lot of info for Katie to help her in her role. All we have is hearsay. The other stars with outstanding performances were Barry Pepper and Tom Wilkinson, with a very big nod to Diana Hardcastle as Rose Kennedy. I have seen Barry before and he is a fine actor and deserves an award for this role as do Greg, Tom and Diana.
This movie was not about conspiracy theories and trying to figure out who assassinated JFK. It hinted at several possibilities and left it at that. What it is about is a family that pulled together in difficult times and took care of each other, which can be a rare thing in these days. It showed their progressive values and the contributions they made to bettering this country and it was so sad that was cut short. I will never forget either of the days those men were assassinated. Watching it all over again was very difficult for me.
My only disappointment was that the only other family member shown briefly was the daughter with the disability. Ted Kennedy was never shown and should have been since it was called The Kennedys and he went on to do great things, but I suppose time restricted that and he was young in the time period this was set.
This movie did it's job of entertaining people and if you don't look at it as "well, history says this or that" then you will enjoy it. It is not meant to retell history but to try to put personality's into public figures and show the difficulties faced by a large political family, the good and the bad. The direction and writing were superb, as well as the cinematography and I liked the way they went back in time to fill in some blanks; made it more interesting to me. I would recommend this to anyone who is not nit picky or highly critical. It is not a documentary, but a mini series about a family, that's all. I found little to criticize about the history element since they skimmed over important events that I lived through and they were pretty accurate. Books can have their own spin on things to sell them, so may not really be accurate either.
I give this an 8/10. This was more like a theatrical production than a TV one.
That being said, I found this series very interesting and highly enjoyable, yet sad. I grew up in the 50's and well remember everything about the Kennedys, the myths and the truths. It is impossible to cram everything about this large family into just 8 hours, but this did a pretty good job with the main points. I don't feel they played that loose with the historical facts because it is impossible to know everything about what happened in the inner sanctum of that great family.
I do know that Greg Kinnear did a remarkable job as John, to the point where I believed he was truly John and had to remind myself he wasn't at times. Katie Holmes did a very good job with Jackie considering she was a private woman who was rarely seen outside of her official role, so not a lot of info for Katie to help her in her role. All we have is hearsay. The other stars with outstanding performances were Barry Pepper and Tom Wilkinson, with a very big nod to Diana Hardcastle as Rose Kennedy. I have seen Barry before and he is a fine actor and deserves an award for this role as do Greg, Tom and Diana.
This movie was not about conspiracy theories and trying to figure out who assassinated JFK. It hinted at several possibilities and left it at that. What it is about is a family that pulled together in difficult times and took care of each other, which can be a rare thing in these days. It showed their progressive values and the contributions they made to bettering this country and it was so sad that was cut short. I will never forget either of the days those men were assassinated. Watching it all over again was very difficult for me.
My only disappointment was that the only other family member shown briefly was the daughter with the disability. Ted Kennedy was never shown and should have been since it was called The Kennedys and he went on to do great things, but I suppose time restricted that and he was young in the time period this was set.
This movie did it's job of entertaining people and if you don't look at it as "well, history says this or that" then you will enjoy it. It is not meant to retell history but to try to put personality's into public figures and show the difficulties faced by a large political family, the good and the bad. The direction and writing were superb, as well as the cinematography and I liked the way they went back in time to fill in some blanks; made it more interesting to me. I would recommend this to anyone who is not nit picky or highly critical. It is not a documentary, but a mini series about a family, that's all. I found little to criticize about the history element since they skimmed over important events that I lived through and they were pretty accurate. Books can have their own spin on things to sell them, so may not really be accurate either.
I give this an 8/10. This was more like a theatrical production than a TV one.