Thursday, December 21, 2006

Death of a President: Reviewed

This film is a fictional documentary about the assassination of President Bush and the events leading up to the assassination, as well as the days and months following.

It's really an incredible movie, regardless if you're a Bush basher or supporter. Every aspect of the "what if" scenario is examined, including interviews with members of the secret service and others inside the president's administration, a forensic investigator, possible suspects and their family members. Fictional newscasts and actual file footage is used to add to the reality of the movie.

Something I found very intriguing is how a Muslim woman and her husband were afraid just to go in public after the shooting, fearing they would be arrested just because they fit the classic terrorist profile. The police eventually did arrest the Muslim man, and scraped up enough circumstantial evidence to bring him to trial.

The big pay off, the reveal of who the assassin is, comes out of left field. The Muslim, a white supremacist from Alabama, dozens of Al Cada terrorist cells, communists, Syrians, and hundreds of Bush haters all take credit for the killing.

I don't find the social commentary trite or cliche at all. It's an interesting theory of what the social and political ramifications could be if a president is killed while in office.

The movie stresses how intrusive the Patriot Act can be, and how justice really is blind, but these themes are overshadowed by the excellent storytelling. This movie is great because it tells a unique and interesting story extremely well. It would have been just as good and compelling if it would have been about Clinton, Kerry, Gore, or Regan. I don't feel it would have been as good if it would have been about a totally fictional presidential figure, because it wouldn't have seemed as real. I give this movie 4/5 stars!

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