Flashback Friday: JFK (Stone, 1991)

Conspiracy theories have been the stories bred for cinema since time immortal. Whether about Watergate, Area 51, or government takeovers, conspiracies in the film world normally drive motivated individuals to seek the truth. But no other conspiracy theory is as prominent as Presidential assassinations, and, more specifically, John F. Kennedy's murder. A real life District Attorney from New Orleans, Jim Garrison, and his own investigation into the matter became the subject of a 1991 film directed by Oliver Stone. The movie would end up having a bigger impact on the history of the United States than anyone could have ever dreamed. Today on Flashback Friday, we're investigating the assassination of JFK.

Oliver Stone remains a noted left-wing moviemaker who's work frequently deals with the troubled sections of America's past. He won the Best Picture/Best Director Oscar for Platoon in 1986, and has since then received numerous nominations from the Academy (he also won Best Adapted Screenplay for Midnight Express in 1978, and Best Director for Born on the Fourth of July in 1989). In addition to these films, he has also made films like Wall Street, Nixon, and Natural Born Killers. For almost all of his credits, Stone tends also to write and produce his films.

Stone's work is characterized for intense screenplays, time-jumping narratives, and sharp editing. JFK is no exception. In addition to all of the aforementioned characteristics, the camera work is highly inventive, taking long, continuous shots and splicing them with black-and-white flashbacks.

JFK is the sprawling story of New Orleans DA Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner), who believes that there may be more to the Kennedy assassination than most people realize. Set three years after the "shots the shocked the world", Garrison works with his talented department to learn the truth, aided by Bill Broussard (Michael Rooker) and Numa Bertel (Wayne Knight).

The DA soon learns that the government was most likely highly involved with the shooting. Prisoner Willie O'Keefe (Kevin Bacon) tells Garrison that Clay Shaw (Tommy Lee Jones), who may or may not have been an undercover CIA agent, knew of a possible plan to kill the President. Eccentric pilot David Ferrie (Joe Pesci) also confirms his involvement, which sends Garrison on a paranoid hunt for the truth. Eventually, he cannot trust anyone, and grows distant from his family (led by wife Sissy Spacek). All of his work leads to the infamous trial of Clay Shaw, where he reveals one of the most cleverly hidden government coups of all time.

Led by a stellar cast and Oscar-nominated direction, JFK shines as a complex yet easy-to-follow political thriller. Though there are a nauseating amount of characters and story leads, the movie is not hard to understand because so many of the people are played by well-known actors in seemingly cameo appearances. The film features performances by Edward Asner, Jack Lemmon, Vincent D'Onofrio, Brian Doyle-Murray, Walter Matthau, John Candy, Donald Sutherland, and a creepy portrayal of Lee Harvey Oswald by Gary Oldman. Oldman takes the gold for the best acting in the movie, though Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, and Michael Rooker are also excellent.

The editing symbolizes the chaos of the plot; frequent jump cuts are made to black-and-white flashbacks, archive footage, and other character's lives. The characters chew the scenery with style and grace, and viewers are shockingly captivated despite the over three-hour runtime. Even if audiences think they know everything about the JFK conspiracy theories, Stone will test their knowledge in ways no other director can.

JFK should also be noted for influencing a real-world political action to reveal secret government documents. Though the "historical facts" of the movie are sometimes brought into question (and for obvious reason; JFK blames the assassination on everything from a small group of outcasts to Lyndon Johnson himself), there is no denying the power of evidence presented by Garrison. After Stone showed a government committee the film, they passed the 1992 Assassinations Disclosure Act. This Act assures that the United States government will release Top Secret documents about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy 25 years after the Act's enactment. Essentially, this means that the truth about Kennedy will be released in 2017, all thanks to the work of Jim Garrison and Oliver Stone.

JFK is a movie that questions all that American's know about the truth of the government that protects them. It makes viewers ponder the reality of the world, and how top officials actually operate. With underrated performances, filmmaking, and dialogue, there's no denying the power of Oliver Stone's 1991 work. JFK teaches you to question everything, for you never know the truth about a government that denies everything.

Who knows? One day, the Magic Bullet Theory may be applied to you.