Parkland (2013)

Based on Vincent Bugliosi's book, Four Days in November, the film Parkland chronicles the events following the assassination of JFK. What I liked about this film was how it tells a part of the story that isn't widely known. From the doctors at the hospital, working on the President, to the acquisition of the Zapruder film, Parkland goes behind the scenes to tell the untold story. I was also impressed with how the film managed to stick to the facts and not dwell on any of the conspiracy theories that surround the case. Zac Efron stars and really wasn't all that great. I think that Efron needs to stick to what he does best, taking his cloths off and making people laugh. While the film is kind of slow, I really enjoyed Paul Giamatti's portrayal of Abraham Zapruder, the man who filmed the assassination. Zapruder really struggled with releasing the tape to the media and the events he witnessed ultimately destroyed his life. Giamatti's portrayal of the man is supposedly spot on and truly deserves an honor mention. Parkland gives us a lot of new information about the events that followed the assassination of President Kennedy, but a lot of it are things the general public really aren't that interested in learning about. For a Kennedy aficionado, this film must of been eye opening, as for the rest of us, it was an interesting, non-bias view of history, albeit a little boring.

I have been studying, watching, speaking about, and all around fascinated with this event that happened 8 years before I was even born. I've seen every adaptation and film about this event, and this is the first one that actually captured the 'human' element of the story. For decades we've grown so jaded by the coverage, and documentaries and reports that go on year after year on the anniversary, that we've disassociated the 'human' element of what happened.We've never been given a real glimpse into the emotions of the doctors, and nurses in the room that day. We've NEVER truly felt Jackie's pain and anguish in that room, on that day, until now. I cried, after years and years of watching, and reading, and talking about all this... during the emergency room scene, I cried. The 'human' element of all of it, FINALLY hit home.Great film, great story, told from a great angle. Conspiracy theorists, and detractors should set aside their agendas for a moment, and just feel what the Doctor's and Nurses, and all the others felt during those moments. Truly moving, no matter what you believe happened that day.

I was not alive when the assassination of President Kennedy happened and unfortunately as a Brit I didn't know that much about the story either. I wasn't completely naïve I knew that he had been shot whilst in a car parading down a street and that Jackie was wearing that infamous pink suit, but apart from that I went into the movie quite unaware of the events that were going to unfold in front of me.At first I would just like to say that I was amazed by Zac Efron's performance in this and he undeniably proved that he's not just a pretty face made for singing and dancing on the Disney channel, he grabbed the viewer's attention and you felt as though you were right there with him.The nature of the filming and respect for the Kennedy family definitely shone through for me in that they used the original footage from his murder as opposed to recreating it Quentin Tarantino style, which others may have gone for and when using the actor portraying him it was rare or brief that you ever saw his face properly.The part that really sold the film for me was that it showed the great deal of respect and admiration people really had for this man. They did this by presenting us with fairly ordinary people becoming involved in something historically tragic in the space of a few minutes and showing the profound effect it had on them in the days that followed.The side of the Robert Oswald was incredibly well portrayed by it's actor; the desperation to understand his brother's actions and motives were portrayed with a simple look or sigh from him and you couldn't help but feel sorry for someone who has done nothing wrong, but because of sharing a family name he is ridiculed and blamed by people who were understandably so angered by his brother Lee Harvey Oswald.Now for the real crux of the matter, Jackie Kennedy. All people who have heard of her will undoubtedly know her as one of the strongest females in American history and the dedication of her role shone through, the actress who played her was not dismissive of the fact that her role was so incredibly influential and iconic. She showed Mrs Kennedy with a side we all knew must have been there, but was never really exposed to the world outside of Parkland, as a woman who appeared to keep her poise throughout the happenings of that devastating time. It was refreshing and saddening to see this woman terrified and heart broken at the loss of her husband.Overall I think this movie is undeniably worth a watch and will inevitably pull on your heart strings, it is brilliant for anyone who is not particularly knowledgeable about the events that happened that day and gives us a completely different insight to what people would not have necessarily known about it at the time. It was done respectfully and honestly. It is a film about the mourning of a icon and while that happens fairly early on in the film the poignancy of the grief surrounding his death is never once lost.

Parkland shows how was the life of some people who were involved in the death of President John F. Kennedy. From the chaos, disbelief and horror at Parkland hospital that received President Kennedy (along with the disorder in the sad trip back to Washington with Kennedy's coffin), the suffering of who had the sad 'privilege' of filming great detail the murder, as the family of Lee Harvey Oswald took the stain to be related to the person murderer Kennedy. No shows ridiculous conspiracy theories, and focuses on the great historical or political moments, but shows us how, on any given day, these people took this unexpected horror. Not for nothing the best movie in the world, but it is certainly interesting to see this view of such an important and sad day in history.