As of now this is my favorite Oliver Stone movie and probably makes my top 20 list based on the quality of movie and its entertainment value. I do not believe in any of the rhetoric and the politics of the movie but Stone does a marvelous job of putting his opinion of the events surrounding President Kennedy's assassination on film. This is a very good movie and quite entertaining.

The movie is based on the events that happened on November 22, 1963 when President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, by Lee Harvey Oswald. The assassination was clouded in mystery when Oswald himself was shot and killed by Jack Ruby in the basement of the Dallas Police Station that following Sunday. Ruby was convicted of murdering Oswald and sent to spend the rest of his life in jail where he died some years later due to an aggressive form of cancer.

Oswald was tied to New Orleans, Louisiana by way of an arrest in the summer of 1963. I mention this because the only man to ever bring a trial in the assassination of President Kennedy was the District Attorney of the New Orleans Parrish, Jim Garrison. He brought to trial a man named Clay Shaw for conspiracy to commit murder. He was found not guilty but the people believed there was a conspiracy to assassinate the president. This movie starts at the assassination and works its way to the trial with constant flash backs to the past as the evidence is gathered.

Oliver Stone (Alexander) adapted the screenplay with Zachary Sklar, his screenwriting debut, from two books, Crossfire: the Plot That Killed Kennedy, written by Jim Maars, and On the Trail of the Assassins, by District Attorney Jim Garrison. Stone and Sklar write a compelling detective story. Both of them are very meticulous in the details that are delivered in the movie. Starting the movie with the assassination was brilliant in that it grabs the audience right a way and you are never let go. Stone also shows the toll the trial takes on Garrison's family as Jim and his wife Elizabeth are fighting constantly. I have mentioned that I am not a believer of what Stone presents as the conspiracy. Yet, Stone does not really force his opinion down the throat of the viewer. His history shows that he is a big believer that the government will operate in the shadows of the law, and will break it to protect themselves. He is also fascinated with the 1960's, making several movies about that time period in history.

Kevin Costner (Open Range) portrayed Jim Garrison and was very believable and quite good. Whether he believes the politics or not, he is Jim Garrison. I have seen this movie several times and I cannot find a flaw in anything he does. His emotions are real and he never seems uncomfortable in any scene with any of the other actors. He just did a great job as main character in the movie. Interesting side note, Jim Garrison was in the movie and portrayed Chief Justice Earl Warren.

The cast is solid with many, many cameos. The principle supporting cast members are Jay O. Sanders (Kiss the Girls,) Wayne Night (TV's Seinfeld,) Michael Rooker (Mississippi Burning,) and Laurie Metcalf (Bulworth,) and were all believable as members of Garrison's staff. An intriguing casting choice was Gary Oldman(The Professional) as Lee Harvey Oswald. All of his scenes were basically flash backs because the movie starts with both Kennedy's and Oswald's death. Yet Oldman takes advantage of every scene and does not portray Oswald as a psycho or a devil. But followed the script and played him right. It could have been easy to make his part over the top given the person he was playing, but he stayed true to the story, and treated his character as a minor character even though, his name is mentioned in almost every scene. Another great choice in casting was Tommy Lee Jones (Man of the House) as Clay Shaw. This was a very different role for him and he like his fellow cast members, stayed true to the character. The only casting choice I did not like was Sissy Spacek (The Ring Two) as Liz Garrison. She didn't do a bad job, but I thought her character was too aggressive at some points and to quite at other points. But I don't like Sissy Spacek the actress so that may have something to do with my opinion. The rest of the cast is a cornucopia of Hollywood talent and names in the late 80's early 1990's. Among others, most prominent were Brian Doyle Murray, Ed Asner, Jack Lemon, Donald Sutherland, Joe Pesci, and Kevin Bacon. In the directors cut you can add to that list John Larroquette.

The great John Williams (Star Wars) did the motion picture score to the movie. His opening music, where he used drums and a solo trumpet, helped in capturing the audience and went with beginning of the movie. The use of the drums brings to mind a man in front of a firing squad and the solo trumpet brings to mind "Taps," the song that they play at military and state funerals. Add this to the opening montage of shots of Kennedy setting up the events leading to the assassination and it's unnerving. Williams maintains that same since of dread through out the movie. The music does nothing to calm the audience member and that is why it as well as Williams remained brilliant.

Stone added an extra 20 minutes to his directors cut, mostly more information in the fact finding process of the investigation. The scene with John Larroquette as a TV talk show host interviewing Garrison is interesting but it is obvious why it is left out. I feel that Stone may have taken out the 20 minutes for its original release is because the information seems a little unbelievable and would have taken away from the movie. Stone's best achievement in this movie as a director was his mixing of current action with flashbacks to acted scenes, as well as stock footage of the historical people. If done incorrectly, flashback scenes can give the viewer headaches, and at no point does this happen. The best example of this can be seen when Donald Sutherland's character, X (see the movie to understand the name,) introduces himself to Garrison, for me, it's the best scene in the movie. I don't include the beginning because we are not introduced to the main character until after the assassination.

"JFK" is a great movie and should be on your list of movie's to see if not owned. I am not a big fan of Oliver Stone but this movie proves that he is one of the better movie directors in the 1980's and early 90's. Go ahead and watch this movie, it is quite entertaining and it will make you think.

Brian - the Naked Gun