PARKLAND (2013)

Genre: Drama
Director: Peter Landesman
Cast: Zac Efron, Marcia Gay Harden, Billy Bob Thornton, Jacki Weaver, Paul Giamatti, James Badge Dale, Jackie Earle Haley, Colin Hanks, David Harbour, Ron Livingston, Jeremy Strong, Tom Welling
RunTime: 1 hr 33 mins
Rating: TBA
Released By: GV
Official Website: http://parkland-themovie.com/
 
Opening Day: 21 November 2013

Synopsis: Recounting the chaotic events that occurred in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963, "Parkland" weaves together the perspectives of a handful of ordinary individuals suddenly thrust into extraordinary circumstances: the young doctors and nurses at Parkland Hospital; Dallas' chief of the Secret Service; an unwitting cameraman who captured what became the most watched and examined film in history; the FBI agents who nearly had the gunman within their grasp; the brother of Lee Harvey Oswald, left to deal with his shattered family; and JFK's security team, witnesses to both the president's death and Vice President Lyndon Johnson's rise to power over a nation whose innocence was forever altered. "Parkland" is based on the book "Four Days In November," by renowned author and former prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi. 

Movie Review:

It will be fifty years this year since President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while travelling in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas, but if you’re not quite sure of the significance of that event, well we’re not certain ‘Parkland’ will enlighten you much. Written and directed by Peter Landesman, the film tries to offer an intimate look at how the events of that fateful day of Nov 22, 1963 changed the lives of those tangentially involved, but the sum of too many parts ultimately ends up uninvolving.

Refusing to stick with a central character, Landesman adopts his source material’s - Vincent Bugliosi's ‘Rashomon-like’ ‘Four Days in November’ - structure by constantly shifting between the points of view of various people caught up in the whirlwind that followed the shooting. Bugliosi's book had a lot of detail, and condensing it into an audience-friendly one half hours feature film, Landesman sieves for the most critical threads in telling the story within the same timeline.

There’s the titular hospital's ER physician Dr Jim Carrico (Zac Efron), nurse Doris Nelson (Marcia Gay Harden) and chief resident Dr. Malcolm Perry (Colin Hanks), who were on duty where President Kennedy was taken to after he was shot. There’s the Secret Service and FBI agents (Billy Bob Thornton and Ron Livingston) on whose watch the shooting occurred. There’s the Dallas dressmaker turned citizen filmmaker Abraham Zapruder (Paul Giamatti) who unwittingly became an overnight celebrity when he recorded the now infamous footage of Kennedy’s slaying on his 8mm home movie camera. And there’s also Robert Oswald (James Badge Dale) and Marguerite Oswald (Jacki Weaver), family members of the accused assailant Lee Harvey (Jeremy Strong), whom was shot by fellow inmate Jack Ruby before he had any chance of standing trial.

The scope is sprawling no doubt, the aim of course to offer a multi-faceted look at the reactions and responses of the ordinary men and women whose lives were forever changed. Unfortunately, even with the bevy of talented actors and recognisable faces who fill the roles, there is just too little connective tissue and not enough purpose among the parallel threads. Understandably, everyone is distraught, some are devastated even, the weight of the implication that they had failed at their duties - whether as medical or security personnel for the President - plainly written on their faces; but really, is it really any surprise that they’d be feeling that way? Ditto for Zapruder, whom we are told at the closing reel never got over the trauma of that day.

Indeed, nothing truly revelatory comes forth from any of the angles - perhaps the only interesting one is the dynamics between the Oswalds, in particular Weaver’s chilling portrayal of Lee Harvey’s delusional and opportunistic mother. Those looking for a good conspiratorial tale will also be sorely disappointed; respectful to a fault, Landesman studiously avoids any of the suspicions or theories cast on the official versions and explanations of the event that have since emerged, instead sticking to the facts concluded by the Warren Commission and well known in the public domain. Simply put, it doesn’t make for very engaging or compelling cinema, especially not when one considers other less reverential but more stimulating works like Oliver Stone’s ‘JFK’.

As a movie composed of many parts, ‘Parkland’ ultimately disappoints because neither the individual parts nor the sum of those parts add up to a fulfilling whole. No one character is present on the screen or given enough depth to make any lasting impact, and the fleeting nature of the narrative also does no justice to the real-life characters. The focus is scattershot no thanks to a technique more suited for a HBO miniseries, and despite Landesman’s evident efforts at meticulously piecing together the period details, fails to convey anything meaningful or significant about an event that should count for so much more. 

Movie Rating:

(Too many angles and too many characters add up to a scattershot and ultimately less than compelling look at a crucial event in American history that should count for so much more)

Review by Gabriel Chong