When I say there isn’t a contender more underrated than Killing Kennedy, I mean it. Although it was a fairly successful entry for the History Channel, have you heard someone walking down the street saying, “have you seen that new JFK movie on the History Channel?” However, although the History Channel is basically doing to history what MTV did to music, the film ended up being a strong mix of both television and history. It may have not garnered the critical notices that it should have (56% on Rotten Tomatoes?), the film was still able to give a surprisingly engaging, and more importantly, entertaining portrayal of a story we think we all know.
The story is very simple, it is the assassination of John F. Kennedy from the perspective of assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. However, although this doesn’t sound as impressive coming from me, the film may be one of the best portrayals of the JFK assassination I have ever seen.
Instead of focusing much on the assassination itself or the aftermath like Parkland did, Killing Kennedy was a construed look at two complicated men doing what they could to save the country they loved. The juxtaposition of their methods was a refreshing take on the subject, which has beaten at for years. For the sake of this review I will break up this spotlight into two sections: John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald.
John F. Kennedy
These parts of the film didn’t stray terribly far from what we already knew. The film starts off with John Fitzgerald Kennedy (Rob Lowe) kicking off his 1960 presidential campaign. He explains to Kenneth O’Donnell that it was supposed to be his older brother Joe running for president, however Kenny retorts that it was always supposed to be him. We then jump ahead 11 months to the night of the election, with Jack anxiously waiting the results.
It seems appropriate to mention here the surprising resemblance Rob Lowe has to JFK. It’s not a striking visual resemblance, although the hail is nearly perfect. The way of him. His attitude. His voice. It all seems familiar, even without the dark sunken eyes that JFK did have.
Jacquie Kennedy comes in to congratulate him, although the race isn’t over. She even calls him “Mr. President.” Just like that, we know who Jacquie Kennedy is. She is not just a wife who stands next to the big man. She is his supported and pillar. Throughout the movie we watch her be betrayed by Jack, even hurt. However, she champions his successes and comforts him in his failures.
Through the Cuban Missile Crisis, Cold War, and rise of organized crime (which will fuel the conspiracy theorists yet again). It’s not the most interesting look at these events. Obviously it’s more of a back room approach, but what is important here is the way JFK reacts to this new stress. You realize the kind of man he is. He wants to do well the for the country. He wants to do well for his family, but he doesn’t know how. It puts the role of POTUS in perspective. There is no manual to be president. The film nicely humanizes him.
As great as Rob Lowe is as JFK, Gennifer Goodwin is a revelation as Jackie Kennedy. I don’t think it’s the greatest portrayal of Jackie O. To be honest, I don’t think anyone has absolutely nailed the role. But she played her part of the First Wife, beside and one step behind her husband extremely well. Especially when Jack’s taste for fun begins to surface.
Lee Harvey Oswald
When we first see Lee Harvey Oswald, a former Marine, he is in the Russian Embassy looking to denounce his United States citizenship. He criticizes the capitalist system and pledges himself to the political idea of marxism. He doesn’t necessarily have a hatred for his home country, he is simply disillusioned by it. However, the US ambassador refuses to allow him to denounce his citizenship and tells him to spend time thinking about what he actually wants.
In the ensuing time he meets a girl named Marina, who he ends up marrying. After experiencing the realities of Russia, he returns to the embassy to get his citizenship back and move back to his home country. However, before leaving he has tiny press conference explaining his decision to denounce his citizenship and make his pledge for marxism. The fun part is, that it was just all a delusion. We learn that Oswald isn’t only a patriot, he also want to have something to be known for, to be remembered for.
Throughout the film, his delusions become more frequent, his devotion to marxism stronger, and his inclination towards action apparent.
However, the revelation here is Will Rothhaar’s performance as Lee Harvey Oswald. There is something to be said for an understated performance, but when it is meant to portray a character that is a sociopathic delusional marxist it becomes all the more remarkable. At a certain point, you feel empathetic toward the patriot. The film portrays him as a misunderstood patriot, who may have taken his delusions of a more perfect America too far, but had a heart that was in the right place. At least, that’s what I thought. You could still see him as a sociopathic delusional marxist. To each their own.
In the end, Killing Kennedy is a fun film to watch. It tells a side of the story that is not often told. It seems that we always get one or the other. It’s always John F. Kennedy or Lee Harvey Oswald. This movie compares these two difficult men, whose destiny’s collide in a catastrophic way, but allows us the understanding behind the both of them. I don’t think it exactly reaches the heights of 2011’s miniseries The Kennedy’s, but it does feel like something fresh and new. Either way, Killing Kennedy is yet another corner in the History Channel’s journey to make History exciting again.
