DVD Parkland

I was 12 when President Kennedy was assassinated. Even though I am Canadian, it was a huge deal for us. I remember seeing him and his wife Jacquie coming out of the Church of the Ascension in Westmount Montreal sometime in 1962 or thereabouts. No crowds, no security, you could feel something exciting about him. North America changed profoundly after that. This movie does not put forward any theories about what took place at Dealey Plaza, but it does show with great accuracy how normal people are affected by extraordinary events. No matter how well we are prepared for things, when disaster strikes it takes everyone off guard and chaos ensues. Look at current events and we see the same thing. The mixture of archival footage was done exactly right, so you felt that you were really there. Despite the horrible circumstances, by the simple acts of ordinary people, one could see that not everyone had lost their humanity. The acting was superb, Marcia Harden, Billy Bob Thornton, Paul Giamatti and Zac Efron in particular.

******This Review May Contain Spoilers****** The assassination of JFK and the following 4 days are re-counted in our next review. Hello there to everyone watching and thank you once again for getting your 2013 Toronto International Film Festival info from We Live Film & ReelScreenReviews, I am movie critic Nick Iacobucci & our next movie review is for "Parkland". This period piece and intense drama will open in limited release at the beginning of October and will bow on DVD in November, and it stars Zac Efron, Paul Giamatti, Marcia Gay Harden, Tom Welling, James Badge Dale, & Billy Bob Thornton. "Parkland" comes to us from director Peter Landesman, and he is a first time filmmaker that also serves as the screenwriter on this project.

"Parkland" tells the tale of the events that unfold on November 22nd, 1963, or the day that John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated. After being shot President Kennedy was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital where a team of respectable medical personal did everything in their power to save this world leader. This film also incorporates the elements of Abraham Zapruder or the man that famously shot the most watched home movie in history. "Parkland" also covers Lee Harvey Oswald and his family's relation to Parkland Memorial, and it also has time for the Dallas Police, the Secret Service, and the FBI.

Well people "Parkland" is shot very up close and personal, and many times throughout the film you actually feel like you are watching a documentary. It obviously makes use of the Zapruder film and mixes dramatic narrative and actual footage for an almost seamlessly flowing story. "Parkland" felt very realistic from time to time, and never relents on an intensity that it brings forth from the film's beginning.

Now even though most people are fully aware of the events that occurred on the road in Dallas that fateful day, most are completely unaware of the events that followed. The actions that unravel in the operating room are grippingly graphic and powerfully real, and the film also introduces other points of insight. Like what happens amongst and within the Oswald family is a revelation, and their relationship with the cops and the Feds is quite interesting.

"Parkland" also explains how an ordinary average garment manufacturer could easily be considered a United States national hero. Abraham Zapruder knew what he had filmed, and I might add knew about the technicalities of photography for the time period. He was there with the FBI & the Secret Service every step of the way, and Mr. Zapruder was the distinct and crucial element as to why anyone knows anything about the murder of JFK. He positively knew what he had filmed and he kept on filming it as it played out, and in my opinion that alone makes him a hero. There are only conspiracy theories today because of the strength of Abraham Zapruder in that moment on the 22nd of November 1963, and without him nobody would've known anything concrete. It shows us direction and a time scale of the shots fired as well as a 2 dimensional blueprint of the murder itself. Put simply in an era where cameras were just being invented for the masses, this was the one aspect the killers never counted on.

Then "Parkland's" authentic look and feel was truly a character all its own, and added very much in its delivery. The clothes and décor, the cars and props, everything in this feature is a spot on match for 50 years previous. Then aside from the way the movie looks the emotional connection that it captures with the audience is even more impressive. There were many people in attendance that were crying for a fallen American President that was likely killed many years before they were even born. This film perfectly conveys the misery & tragedy of a country mourning the loss of its emperor.

Then I actually wrote the word 'Relentless' in my notes to describe this film 4 times throughout its viewing. "Parkland" absolutely does not stop in terms of the trauma that unfolds in the hospital, the city, or the country that November day. It seems to interweave authorities, witnesses, victims, & of course medical personal all wrapped up in a national heartbreak. This movie is filmed well, the screenplay is tight, the acting is top notch, and with little time to breathe I don't know how anyone could complain about boredom.

I think that I clocked "Parkland" at a quick 1 hour and 30 minutes, and in that time there wasn't even 1 boring or worthless second. This film is the definition of a true ensemble cast, and that's where everyone that stars in it cares more about the film than they do about their own individual performances. This movie flew by as one of the most enjoyable, interesting, and informative films that I have seen all year, and that's why Nick's Reel Screen Review is a perfect 4 stars out of 4. That perfect recommendation comes for the grippingly realistic drama "Parkland".