Arts & Entertainment
Stone film has nation rehashing theories
_I
Brian Shellito/DN
‘JFK’ casts doubt on Warren Commission
with blendoffacty creative interpretation
By Steve Pearson
Staff Reporter
Across the country, director Ol
iver Stone’s latest venture in politi
cally charged cinema has generated
nearly as much copy on newspapers
opinion-editorial pages as on the cn
tertainment pages.
Like “Platoon” and “Born on the
Fourth of July,” “JFK” is a lincl)
crafted film that carries Slone’s per
sonal ideological stamp.
“JFK,” the cinematic cquivalcn
of a persuasive essay, is an attempt u
Superb acting reinforces persuasive tone
cast doubt on the findings of the Warren
Commission that investigated the
assassination of former President John
F. Kennedy.
The film centers on Jim Garrison
(Kevin Costner), the district attorney
of New Orleans who conducted an
investigation into a possible conspir
acy to kill Kennedy. According to
Garrison’s perspective, the investiga
tion involved Cuban exiles, the FBI,
the CIA, the military industrial com
plex and the Mafia. His investigation
resulted in conspiracy charges being
filed against Clay Shaw (Tommy Lee
Jones), a wealthy homosexual.
The film has been widely criti
cized for blurring the line between
fact and fiction. But placing these
questions of its accuracy aside, the
film is a stunning achievement.
The acting is superb throughout.
Costner is back in top form as the
i obsessive Garrison, and handles the
i slight Southern drawl with much more
flair than hison-again, off-again Brit
ish accent in “Robin Hood.” And
Jones dominates the screen with his
dignified, yet foreboding portrayal of
Shaw.
Gary Oldman’s Lee Harvey Oswald
is so convincing that*viewers will
have a lough time distinguishing be
tween the authentic footage of the
real Oswald and Oldman’s portrayal.
Sissy Spacck also turns in an excel
lent performance as Garrison’s belea
guered wife.
Casting against the type and using
some ironic casting choices pay off
for Stone because they add to the
richness of the film.
Joe Pcsci’s portrayal of David
Ferric, the flamboyant pilot who is
defrocked from the priesthood be
cause of his homosexuality, puts Pcsci
in line for another Oscar nomination.
His performance as the bald eccen
tric, whose untimely death puts a hole
in Garrison’s ease, is so convincing
thaicvcn his most dcvoicd fans may
have trouble finding Pcsci in the
character.
John Candy appears in the star
tlingly serious role of Dean Andrews,
a subject of Garrison’s investigation,
One-time teen idol Kevin Bacon
adeptly portrays an imprisoned homo
sexual questioned by Garrison. Ed
Asner of “Lou Grant’’ and “Mary
Tyler Moore’’ fame, who is known as
an outspoken proponent of liberal
causes, is cast as a conspirator in
Kennedy’s death. Perhaps the most
ironic; casting twist is that of the real
Jim Garrison as Chief Justice Earl
Warren, who presided over the inves
tigation by the Warren Commission.
Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon
arc also notable in cameo roles.
A dark palette of colors dominates
the film, and many scenes were shot
at low light levels,adding to the film’s
ominous quality.
The film’s three-hour length, ex
See JFK on 15
Director s
historical
information
scrambled
It seems no matter where I go, I
just can’t get away from it. In restau
rants, bars, on golf courses, every
where, everyone wants to have the
same conversation, and the conversa
tion always goes nowhere. I’ll pick
up bits and pieces here and there:
Theorist one: “There’s no way
Oswald could have gotten off four
shots in six seconds. The FBI tried,
for Christ’s sake, and they couldn’t
do it, even without aiming.”
——
“ John
Payne
Theorist two: “And they’re trying
to tell me a guy can defect to the
Soviet Union during the height of the
Cold War and come back less than a
year later, no questions asked? The
CIA was behind it all the way.”
Oliver Stone’s film “JFK,” for all
its flaws (perhaps because of its Haws)
hasalotof people talking. It’s good to
talk, I suppose. And any movie that
sparks discussion accomplishes mpre
than most. What worries me, though,
is what people arc talking about. Legal
scholars, assassination buffs and a lot
of highbrow journalists seem intent
on chastising Stone rather than talk
ing about the subject of his movie —
the assassination itself.
Of course, the criticisms arc inevi
table. If you haven’t seen it yet, the
thrcc-hour-plus “JFK” is intriguing
but packed with historical inaccura
cies. As a documentary on the Ken
nedy shooting and the subsequent
investigation by New Orleans Dis
trict Attorney Jim Garrison, “JFK” is
pulp. But then again, its critics arc the
only ones billing the film as a docu
mentary.
Apparently, these same critics arc
afraid that the gullible American public
will accept “JFK” as fact, a view that
is more than a little patronizing.
In the film, which culminates in
the 1969 trial of New Orleans busi
nessman Clay Shaw for conspiring to
kill JFK, characters arc misquoted
andoflcn misrepresented. By Stone’s
own admission, the chronology of
many events has been shufilcd and
events that never look place have
been inserted to further what Slone
calls the film’s “greater truth.”
Specifically: Garrison’s Washing
See PAYNE on 15
I ■■■■—■■■■■■
Ratings on a 1-5 real scale to J
tha speed of celluloid are:
5 reels - Run
4 reels - Jog
Zf /
3 reels - Race walk
(Sea ft If you've seen tha others)
i m
a i /
2 reels f Stroll
(Bring alternate entertainment
source)
1 reel -^rawl
Scott Maurer/O N
Tale of brotherly strife succeeds
By Anne Steyer
Senior Reporter _ —-—
Adverse publicity has surrounded
Scan Penn’s turbulent Hollywood
career from its very beginning, but
the bad boy makes good with his
directorial debut in this season’s “The
Indian Runner” (The Lincoln The*
atrc, U43 r SI.).
Inspired by Bruce Springsteen’s
“Highway Patrolman,” the film stud
ies the relationship between two broth
ers, Joe (David Morse) and Frank
(Viggo Mortensen), who live in a
nameless town in Nebraska.
Joe is the solid, all-American son,
a farmer who loses his land to the
government only to lum around and
work as a law enforcement officer for
this same government. Brother Frank
is the opposite, a returning soldier
from Vietnam, tattooed, angry and a
breath away from self-destruction.
The story begins with Frank’s re
turn from the war. After an altogether
brief reunion with big brother Joe,
Frank takes off for Ohio where he
immediately gels into trouble and
winds up in jail. He doesn’t return to
Nebraska until after some tragic family
events. He comes back with a hippie
girlfriend (Patricia Arquette) in tow,
aiming to lake a shot at domestic
bliss.
But Frank is not the man Joe is. A
ninc-to-livc job, new curtains and
impending fatherhood don’t sit well
on his shoulders. His self-destructive
bent and warped self-worth destroy
him, and those he touches, w ith nearly
the same ferocity.
With “The Indian Runner,” Penn
is taking his first turn at both writing
and directing. The story he has con
structed is compelling. It adds new
depth and insight to Inc weary storv
of conflict between family and self
determination. He sets up the story
well, and where narration is usually
annoying, it seems oddly appropriate
in this film.
The look and feel of the Film arc as
compelling as the story. Penn uses
unusual camera angles and employs
some occasional staggered shots. Both
arc effective at adding to the discom
fort already created by the raw emo
tion of the script. The music also
lends a hand in this objective. The
evocative score is peppered with sad,
soulful songs of the ’60s.
In addition to these fine backdrops,
the acting is solid throughout. Both
Morse and Mortcnscn bring an edge
and depth to their characters. Arquette
is charming as Frank’s girl Dorothy.
Valeria Golino exudes a sexy but
comforting strength as Joe’s spouse.
The Indian Runner of lore was a
messenger, independent of time, space
and danger, an envoy who becomes
his message to deliver it. This pas
See RUNNER on 15 .1