PARKLAND REVIEW

PARKLAND REVIEW

‘Parkland’ chronicles the day of the Kennedy Assassination and the three days that follow.  The film is written and directed by Peter Landesman.  This movie is very interesting because it goes beyond the conspiracy theories and just goes through the emotions of ordinary people in an extraordinary situation.  ‘Parkland’ tells the story through multiple points of view specifically, Abraham Zapruder, the man who filmed the famous footage of the assassination.  Zapruder is played very well by Paul Giamatti.  Another one of the main characters in this HUGE ensemble film is Jim Carrico, a young surgeon thrust into performing surgery on President Kennedy after the shooting.  Carrico is played by Zac Efron and, let me say, he is not just a “Disney actor”.  Efron gives a strong emotional performance in this film, one of my favorites.  Out of the many characters in the film, my favorite storyline is of Robert Oswald, played very subtly, emotionally and beautifully by James Badge Dale.  However, there are issues with the film.  Due to the fact that there are so many interwoven storylines and characters, there are a few weak links in the acting.  Also, if you are not a huge fan of the history, you may not be as engaged as I was.  That being said, I loved this film and think it is absolutely worth the price of admission.  Peter Landesman did a remarkable job, mixing both real footage with the film he shot and that is a testament to the direction, editing and cinematography.  This film also stars Billy Bob Thornton, Marcia Gay Harden, Ron Livingston, Tom Welling and Jacki Weaver.  I give ‘Parkland’:

3.7/5 Stars.

‘Parkland’ is released in theaters on October 4^th.

   

     -  George McCann