30 years after the release of his multi-award nominated JFK, and released theatrically to coincide with the 58th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Oliver Stone revisits the theories around the events of Dallas on that fateful day in this involving and engrossing documentary.
The film opens with a fifteen-minute re-cap of what has been said on the subject so far. Stone and his team quickly go through the events of the day in question, starting with the assassination itself, and then briefly cover the arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald, and then his subsequent murder – essentially everything that Stone’s three-hour original movie featured. Of course, this is for the benefit of those not completely aware of the events, and the many conspiracy theories that have surrounded it since. JFK covers those in massive detail, but here, Stone, accompanied by narrators Whoopi Goldberg and Donald Sutherland, set about what has come to light since the making and release of the 1991 movie – specifically the declassification of government files from the US Assassination Records Review Board.
Coupled with new interviews with experts in medical autopsy, weapons, etc. Stone, who also appears on-screen throughout – physically interviewing his subjects and also plodding around the grassy knoll in Delaney Plaza. The documentary revisits the subject of the ‘magic bullet’ – a key talking point in JFK; on Oswald himself and whether he was even on the sixth floor at the time of the shooting; and if he as, whether he could make it down the stairs in the time they said he did. Then there’s how the body of the President was illegally taken from Parkland hospital back to Washington for the autopsy, and then the autopsy itself; the validity of the photos that were released afterwards, and more. I merely scratch the surface with new key findings that this film covers.
The film premiered at Cannes in the summer where it was met with relatively good reviews, and I’ll add to those as this is a very interesting documentary and companion piece to the dramatic film. There’s a lot to take and the film swiftly moves from subject to subject, analysing the key findings from the redacted materials. At just under two hours, it’s not an exhausting watch but is a little overwhelming.
Technically, some of the interviews feel a bit disjointed and there is a really rather irritating musical accompaniment all of the way through, which I really could have done without. Switching to Sutherland after a brief clip of him as whistleblower Mr. X 30 minutes from the end is a great touch, and overall it is definitely a worthy journey back to the material, particularly to new, perhaps younger viewers. Obviously, there is graphic imagery in places, the Zapruder film heavily featured and those autopsy photos are seen throughout.
A key piece in history is always worth revisiting, particularly one made by such high-profile filmmakers as Stone, and his latest documentary is completely worth the visit.
JFK Revisited: Through The Looking Glass is released in cinemas from 26th November, and then on digital platforms from 29th November.
JFK Revisited: Through The Looking Glass
Summary
A well-told, involving piece that loses its way a little towards the end -we would have perhaps liked to have had further aspects of the actual assassination covered – like more about the motivations of Jack Ruby – but is well worth the visit as a companion piece to his superb 1991 dramatic effort.
