First I will state the disclaimer that I am a Kennedy and Kennedy Assassination historian, have been for a very, very long time and am generally considered a worthwhile voice in the Kennedy community (not bragging just stating my background...and maybe bragging a little!) I scramble to see every Kennedy film, bio and documentary I can so I was thrilled to see this one. I had reasonable expectations though and knew that it would be a very straight forward/non-controversial telling of the events leading to Kennedy's assassination and it is exactly that. It brings nothing new or shocking to the table but rather follows the generally accepted history of Kennedy and the Assassination. There is a lot of good to this TV made film but there is also a lot of missed potential. I dream of the day that someone with true brilliance makes a full fledged TV Series (four seasons would be great.) There is far too much history, drama, and major events to cram it all into an hour and a half. That being said they do the very best they can in the time frame given. The cast is brilliant, one of the best "Camelot" era casts I have seen in a film (more on that in a moment.) Some of the scenes where they recreate intimate Kennedy moments was powerful and just really moving to see dramatized. It was a nearly perfect representation of the story but due to the time constraint it comes across as just a little dry and underdeveloped.
Rob Lowe...wow. He absolutely nails his role as John Kennedy. He looks the part, nails the voice (without sounding cheesy), has good charisma and just really embodies the part. He is easily one of the top three JFK actors I have ever seen. The problem is (and this extends to the entire cast) is that because of the time constraint he and the rest of the cast don't get enough time to really shine in the roles. Everything is so fast and so by the book that their brilliance is hampered just a little bit. Ginnifer Goodwin is the perfect example of this because I think she was terrific as Jackie (though her chemistry with Lowe was okay and not great.) She also tries just a little too hard to imitate Jackie but 99% of the time she does an amazing job and I think given hours to unfold the character she could have been amazing. Will Rothhaar is mesmerizing as Lee Harvey Oswald. He gets the most development as a character and he makes the most infamous killer in modern day history come alive on screen like you are there with him trying to understand him. Michelle Trachtenberg gives an absolutely stunning, Emmy worthy performances as Marina Oswald. As one reviewer pointed out, she is a little too pretty to be Marina but outside of that she is amazing. Her Russian sounds flawless and her chemistry with Rothhaar is perfect. I would have watched an entire film about the two of them (another great idea for Hollywood.) Jack Noseworthy has an achingly small role as Bobby Kennedy but I think given a much bigger role he would have been great at it too because in his couple of scenes he really captures the look and voice of Bobby. Casey Siemaszko and Francis Guinan are also decent in extremely small roles as Jack Ruby and Lyndon Johnson.
Director Nelson McCormick is probably a great choice to helm this film. He does a good job with the information and tells the story exactly as its presented to him. He has a long history in TV and I think if they did stretch this out into an actual series he would be a good choice. As I said before he recreates some really interesting scenes in the Kennedy family and it was the first time I have seen these particular scenes recreated. One reviewer pointed out a particular scene of nudity (a woman's backside as she gets out of the pool) and pointed it out as disappointing and pointless. They were jumped all over by people (of course) but I agree! For a film that nearly anyone could watch and history classes of all ages should see, to have that single moment of nudity was completely gratuitous and pointless. Still as a history buff and as a Kennedy buff even moreso I was impressed by the film, had a great time watching it but fell just shy of being blown away. The historical accuracy was definitely there and I thought it interesting (as a conspiracy theorist) that I thought their tried and true by the book story only made it look even more implausible but that's a story in itself. Absolutely check this out because its well worth your time. 8/10
Rob Lowe...wow. He absolutely nails his role as John Kennedy. He looks the part, nails the voice (without sounding cheesy), has good charisma and just really embodies the part. He is easily one of the top three JFK actors I have ever seen. The problem is (and this extends to the entire cast) is that because of the time constraint he and the rest of the cast don't get enough time to really shine in the roles. Everything is so fast and so by the book that their brilliance is hampered just a little bit. Ginnifer Goodwin is the perfect example of this because I think she was terrific as Jackie (though her chemistry with Lowe was okay and not great.) She also tries just a little too hard to imitate Jackie but 99% of the time she does an amazing job and I think given hours to unfold the character she could have been amazing. Will Rothhaar is mesmerizing as Lee Harvey Oswald. He gets the most development as a character and he makes the most infamous killer in modern day history come alive on screen like you are there with him trying to understand him. Michelle Trachtenberg gives an absolutely stunning, Emmy worthy performances as Marina Oswald. As one reviewer pointed out, she is a little too pretty to be Marina but outside of that she is amazing. Her Russian sounds flawless and her chemistry with Rothhaar is perfect. I would have watched an entire film about the two of them (another great idea for Hollywood.) Jack Noseworthy has an achingly small role as Bobby Kennedy but I think given a much bigger role he would have been great at it too because in his couple of scenes he really captures the look and voice of Bobby. Casey Siemaszko and Francis Guinan are also decent in extremely small roles as Jack Ruby and Lyndon Johnson.
Director Nelson McCormick is probably a great choice to helm this film. He does a good job with the information and tells the story exactly as its presented to him. He has a long history in TV and I think if they did stretch this out into an actual series he would be a good choice. As I said before he recreates some really interesting scenes in the Kennedy family and it was the first time I have seen these particular scenes recreated. One reviewer pointed out a particular scene of nudity (a woman's backside as she gets out of the pool) and pointed it out as disappointing and pointless. They were jumped all over by people (of course) but I agree! For a film that nearly anyone could watch and history classes of all ages should see, to have that single moment of nudity was completely gratuitous and pointless. Still as a history buff and as a Kennedy buff even moreso I was impressed by the film, had a great time watching it but fell just shy of being blown away. The historical accuracy was definitely there and I thought it interesting (as a conspiracy theorist) that I thought their tried and true by the book story only made it look even more implausible but that's a story in itself. Absolutely check this out because its well worth your time. 8/10