BOBBY (2006) Directed by Emilio Estevez. ****
BOBBY is Bobby Kennedy and Emilio Estevez's film chronicles the day of his assassination. However the film chooses not to follow Kennedy (who is not dramatically portrayed in the film) but instead to concentrate on the other people who were shot on that day in the hotel kitchen and their reasons for being there. It must be stated that although these people existed the characters who represent them in the film are fictional substitutes - with the possible exception of the young Mexican kitchen hand. Some have complained that it is difficult to be interested in the details of these people's lives while such dramatic historical events are unfolding, but I think they miss the point of the film that Estevez set out to make. Whatever one's feelings about the Kennedys both JFK and Bobby represented to many American's the hopes, dreams and aspirations they had for a better, fairer and more just country. If the JFK Camelot dream was wiped away in Dallas, Bobby offered a second chance - and that is what this film is about - about the people's dreams. I found the film supremely moving in much the same way that Emilio's earlier directorial effort, THE WAY was. Both films are quietly subversive inasmuch as they get under your skin and make you think of things that lay beneath the surface - just as THE WAY was "not about religion" (to quote one of that film's characters) so BOBBY is not about politics, it is about much, much more. The cast is quite phenomenal : William H. Macy, Anthony Hopkins (who also produced), Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez, Martin Sheen, Sharon Stone, Harry Belafone, Elijah Wood, Laurence Fishburne, Helen Hunt, Lindsay Lohan, Shia LaBeouf and many others.
1 comment:
I think the phenomenal cast speaks volumes as to the quality of the script in that so many big-time stars wanted to do it (despite the supporting nature of all their roles). In fact, I don't think one can say there is a starring role in the film; everyone is supporting everyone else. I guess that's what a dream cast is all about.
Once again, I think people judge a film not for what it is but for what it ain't. As you say, the film is not "about" Bobby Kennedy (so perhaps the title is a little misleading) but it's "about" all these people whose lives converge on this particular hotel on this particular night. That's what it's about and it should be judged accordingly. As such, I never found it boring or uninvolving because it didn't focus on Bobby; shortly into the film one should get that point and watch the film for what it is. I thought the cast, far from just cashing a paycheque, gave superb performances without exception; it's obvious that they all connected with the script and their characters and gave it all they had.
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