Tom Hanks’s JFK feature film, “Parkland,” premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday. The movie, starring Paul Giamatti and Zac Efron, is “not out to pick a fight” over conspiracy theories,” says director Peter Landesman.
The problem, says one early review, is that the film starts out “tense and stirring,” only to slide into “TV movie solemnity” and, worse yet, “camp.”
From France 24:
“‘Parkland’ isn’t bad, exactly. But the director hasn’t found a way to make his glimpse at the immediate aftermath of one of the defining traumas of contemporary US history feel urgent. On the contrary, the film ends up feeling unnecessary and undistinguished. Aside from the fact that November will mark the 50th anniversary of JFK’s death, why make this movie now?'”
This film is just another perpetuation of the coverup by its avoidance of what the Parkland doctors actually said: the shots came from the front. Hanks will regret his part in promoting this sad excuse of the Warren Commission – and so will the fine actors who took part. How come they did it? Weren’t they curious as to the real events at Parkland. As professionals, they should have done their homework – and voiced their objections to this glaring omission. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXZ87gOlKkM
When you set out to make a polemic instead of a story, when the agenda is to try to refute in fiction a factual premise, you’re bound to fail. When I read the script I knew it would be a bomb. There isn’t any character development, no story beats, nothing to recommend it as a film. JFK was a marvelous film, aside from the points it was trying to make. It was a well-crafted narrative. But this was nothing but a shoddy attempt to refute conspiracy theories. Jim DiEugenio has some interesting information about both Hanks and Landesman in his upcoming book “Reclaiming Parkland.”
My first question when I read this is, who is Landesman? When you know that answer, you’ll understand everything else about this film.
Timid & weak movie & TV productions made on the JFK case since Oliver Stone’s ‘JFK’ visually demonstrate that despite his film’s faults, Stone had courage, fortitude a ‘pair size’ no one’s been able to top on the big screen since.
I believe Hanks is trying to avoid the crucifixion Oliver Stone received.