Parkland - 14th October 2014

Tuesday Night is Film Night is back yet again, it doesn't seem like 7 days ago that we were here before. This week's film is a drama based upon the events that occurred on and around November the 22nd 1963 and a subject much loved (by some) here at TNiFN Towers; the JFK assassination. Tonight we are watching;

Parkland

Parkland recounts the chaotic events following the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy in 1963. It is based on Vincent Bugliosi's book "Four Days in November: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy" and as such, is a fascinating 93 minutes if you are a scholar of the JFK assassination. If you're not, they you may find the story somewhat tedious, as the events and outcomes are obviously predictable. It certainly divided the room here at TNiFN.

To counter the lack of storyline, for those who do not find the history fascinating, they have cast Zac Efron as one of the lead characters, so there is some visual stimulus for the ladies. Effron plays Dr. Charles 'Jim' Carrico, a doctor at Parkland Hospital, Dallas who attended to JFK on his rushed arrival to the emergency room.

The film is interspersed with real film from 1963, including the famous Zapruder film, which captures the actual moment that the fatal shots were fired. Parkland makes good use of this 8mm film and the character of Abraham Zapruder, played magnificently by Paul Giamatti and switches between Parkland hospital and the scenes with Zapruder quite often.

Another thread to the story followed closely by Parkland, is the interaction with the local FBI agents and Lee Harvey Oswald, as played out by the inclusion of FBI agent James Hosty played by Ron Livingston (last seen here at TNiFN in Drinking Buddies). Hosty was investigating Oswald prior to the assassination. We also have Special Agent Forrest Sorrels played by Billy Bob Thornton as a leading character and his involvement with Zapruder over the development of the 8mm film in Zapruder's Bell & Howell camera.

The action and drama surrounding the story is well portrayed in Parkland, the mixture of archive footage and realtime events is very well done, the accuracy of characters, especially Zapruder and Oswald is very well researched and the likenesses uncanny. Obviously, with an extremely well documented event such as this, the need for accuracy is foremost and Parkland has achieved that accuracy with a high degree of realism, portraying the unseen events with a perceived clarity, which gives fans of the whole JFK phenomenon an added boost.

As a JFK film it is certainly up there with Oliver Stone's epic "JFK", however if you are not intrigued by the events of November '63 then Parkland is just another gritty hospital drama, with an inevitable outcome. If however, you are verging on the obsessive with regard to all things JFK, then Parkland is yet another superb drama based on real facts and real events, adding clarity and / or complexity to an already amazing story, bringing to life some of the real characters who are now an integral part of modern American history.

In summation, Parkland is a room divider, but also a great film. Certainly worth a watch and one for the "play again" list.

TNiFN Rating 82%

IMDB Link