Plot
A recounting of the chaotic events that occurred at Dallas' Parkland Hospital on the day U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
Release Year: 2013
Rating: 5.7/10 (347 voted)
Director:Peter Landesman
Storyline
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.
******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".
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