JFK (1991)

Directed by Oliver Stone. Starring Kevin Costner, Jay O. Sanders, Michael Rooker, Joe Pesci, Tommy Lee Jones, Sissy Spacek, Donald Sutherland, Laurie Metcalf, Kevin Bacon, Gary Oldman, Sally Kirkland, Wayne Knight, Lolita Davidovich, John Candy, Jack Lemmon, Brian Doyle-Murray, Ed Asner, Roy Barnitt, Bob Gunton. [R]

Crackling, controversial film detailing the fallout of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and the righteous crusade that New Orleans DA Jim Garrison (Costner) undertakes to seek out the truth and bring the men responsible to justice (or, at the very least, into the public eye). A hoard of information—speculative and factual—presented as a collage of debates, theories, and incidents in the package of a riveting drama, at a frenzied pace that makes the three-plus hours fly by in a whirlwind of indignation, discovery, paranoia and coercion. Brilliantly directed and assembled for clarity in the big picture, bewilderment in the specifics (as all conspiracy theories are shaped), benefiting immensely from the creation of a “Mr. X” character (Sutherland) who is on hand to organize, theorize, and deliver a knockout extended monologue, as well as the wise casting choice of earnest, all-American Costner to represent a nation’s doubts and outrages. Not a film that aspires to firmly declare exactly what happened and what parties were responsible, but one that articulates a bevy of suspicions and makes it clear that there was some sort of conspiracy involving numerous corrupt individuals and/or groups. Robert Richardson’s eclectic photography and Joe Hutshing and Pietro Scalia’s editing won Academy Awards. Extremely deep and talented cast also includes cameos from Walter Matthau, Vincent D’Onofrio, Frank Whaley, Martin Sheen (narration only), and the real Jim Garrison (briefly appearing as Earl Warren).

93/100