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Death of a President
Directed by: Gabriel Range
Starring: George W. Bush
Genre:
Drama
Run Time: 90
min.
Release Date:
October 2006
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
Finding out all of the
angry press that preceded the release of DEATH OF A PRESIDENT, I
just knew I had to see it. Unfortunately I couldn’t watch it on a big
screen, as Regal and Cinemark (the two largest cinema chains in the
nation) refused to release it on their screens. In addition to this
blow, the film was again hamstrung in its marketing department by CNN
and NPR who refused to run ads. Politicians lambasted the film
without ever seeing it, including (surprisingly!) Hillary Clinton who
called it, “...despicable...”, “...absolutely outrageous...”, and
“...evil...”
To say that I was positively drooling to see it would be an
understatement! And now that I’ve watched it I have to ask: What was all
the hubbub about? Film makers have made projects with far less taste and
were much more politically charged than this mock shockumentary. The
most interesting fact is that the film doesn’t take a political stance
(neither left nor right) but simply explores what might happen if
President Bush were assassinated. The phony documentary excellently
utilizes stock news footage mixed with CGI and fictional
characters/situations. Trying to tell what’s real and what’s “inserted”
is impossible, which bumps this film up a notch in terms of
entertainment.
Watching Dick Cheney give a eulogy for ‘Dubya’ was impressive, too, as
the editors sliced and diced pieces of dialogue from Ronald Reagon’s
funeral in with some later speeches used by the VP.
It was entertaining to see what Cheney might do if confronted with such
a situation. The news media coverage of the events were believable and,
probably, sadly accurate (on another plain of existence, that is). That
they would seek out members of the Muslim faith in which to pin the
assassination on would not surprise me in the slightest considering this
administration’s track record on such things. This is not a jab at their
policies, per se, but only an overall view of how narrowminded the Bush
administration is when it comes to international relations (“You’re
either with us or against us”).
The only negative aspect to the film is that it’s pretty slow. The only
action is during demonstrations in Chicago (again, mocked) and the
actual time of the assassination. The rest is dedicated to mock news
footage and mockumentary style interviews with people who were affected
(directly) by the assassination.
Still, this is an interesting “what-if” that’ll spark some great
discussions. My only concern might be that on August 19, 2007 some
sick-o might take it upon himself to make this a reality. I hope all
people realize that killing is wrong, regardless of how you feel about
the person. This was simply a film designed to make you think about
where we are in the world right now, not to take drastic measures into
one’s own hands.
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Image from Death of a
President
DVD cost: $13.99
Purchase:
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Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
The majority of the actors
in the film were not told the premise of the movie. The working title
for the film was "D.O.A.P.," and the actors were not told what the plot
was, except for their specific scenes.
Movie Quote: "It's
not clear if the President has been hit, but apparently there are
casualties."
Other Actors/Actresses
from Death of a President
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