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I saw this film in the theaters and was very disappointed that it was not a major hit; although I think I know why. This is definitely a character and dialogue-driven historical drama. Not your run-of-the-mill mind-blowing blockbuster type of film! I believe this film will play very nicely in DVD or video form where it’s quiet drama will play itself better.
I was VERY disappointed that Bruce Greenwood was not nominated for an academy award (there were rumors this may happen) because I believe his performance was as good if not better than the men that were nominated. His JFK was, in my humble opinion, perfect. I found this film compelling, well written, and dramatic. I especially enjoyed the scenes where Kenny O’Donnell (K. Costner) went to church and went to see his son play ball. Can you just imagine what you would feel if you thought the end of the world may happen?
As I watched this movie, I thought it was a shame that the movie-going generation of today did not take the time to watch it. To them, this is history of long ago; to many others, it is a lesson worth watching and remembering.
This is also, quite frankly, a wonderful and entertaining piece of cinema. Give it the chance it deserves.
I remember studying the Cuban Missile Crisis in college, in a class on group dynamics and groupthink. It is such a remarkably involving event, I was a bit apprehensive going into the film, as Hollywood often manages to suck the life out of inherently thrilling stories. Luckily, they get this one right. While it is not historically accurate, I didn’t care, because the story this film tells preserves the essence of the event, the tension in the White House as two superpowers danced at the edge of World War III, and the type of individual heroism and leadership it probably took to save us from ourselves.
The story is told from the perspective of Kenny O’Donnell (Kevin Costner), given an inflated role as the advisor to President Kennedy and confidant of both John and Bobby. Telling the story from his perspective is a good one, as it allows us to view John and Bobby as the larger than life heroes they were. Costner’s faux Bostonian accent is so lousy as to cause hysterical laughter from my friends and I as the film started, but thankfully Bruce Greenwood and Steven Culp outshine him with remarkably charismatic portrayals of John and Bobby. I wasn’t alive when Kennedy was president, but after watching Greenwood’s performance I can understand why so many look to Kennedy as our last great president. Surrounded by military chiefs of staff rabid to go to war with the Russians, the Kennedy’s and O’Donnell find the courage to follow their better judgment and inspire enough decent men around them to steer both sides to a peaceful resolution. This is filmmaking about the clash of strong personalities in a group setting, like Twelve Angry Men, or Glengarry Glen Ross, or Fail Safe. I find the subject fascinating.
A few other minor quibbles: occasionally the film switches to black and white, ostensibly to heighten the sense of historical accuracy, but it just looked like we were watching a studio screener copy of the film to me. That could have been left out. Also, occasionally the director Roger Donaldson inserts scenes with O’Donnell hanging out with his family, brooding over their well-being, with head in hand and furrowed brow. They feel like attempts to conjure up some of the tension that common American families felt during the event, but Costner no longer has the dramatic presence to pull them off, and I would have preferred Donaldson narrow his focus to stay within the confines of the White House.
But those are minor quibbles. Dylan Baker plays Defense Secretary Robert McNamara wonderfully, and it’s amazing how much Culp and Baker resemble Bobby Kennedy and McNamara. I left the film wishing that presidential candidates like George Bush or Al Gore had half the charisma of Greenwood’s JFK. Ah, but isn’t that always the case with presidents in the movies? If you find yourself fascinated by the Cuban Missile Crisis after watching the film, pick up the book from which some of the film’s events were pulled, “The Kennedy Tapes: Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis.” It provides a more historically accurate and just as compelling examination of the event.
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