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"DEATH OF A PRESIDENT"
(2006) (Hend Ayoub, Brian Boland) (R)

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QUICK TAKE:
Drama: Various officials, witnesses, and suspects discuss their view and involvement in the October 2007 assassination of President Bush.
PLOT:
It's October 2007 and President Bush has been assassinated following a speech and massive demonstration of protestors in Chicago. President Cheney has been sworn in as his successor, the Patriot Act III -- giving the executive branch even broader powers to detain and investigate potential terrorists -- has been passed, and various government officials are trying to figure out who's responsible.

At an undisclosed point in the future, various officials, witnesses, and suspects discuss their view and involvement in the act. They include the President's advisor Eleanor Drake (BECKY ANN BAKER), Larry Stafford (BRIAN BOLAND) the head of President's detail for the Secret Service, Chicago deputy Greg Turner (ROBERT MANGIARDI), FBI agent Robert Maguire (MICHAEL REILLY BURKE), FBI forensics specialist Dr. James Pearn (JAMES URBANIAK) and FBI interrogator John Rucinski (CHRISTIAN STOLTE).

Among the suspects is demonstration protestor Frank Molini (JAY WHITTAKER) and disgruntled Iraqi War veteran Casey Claybon (M. NEKO PARHAM) who's upset about his brother and fellow soldier's death in Iraq. Then there's Yemen born Samir Masri (SEENA JON) whose family has been deported, and Jamal Abu Zikri (MALIK BADER) who works in the building from where the shots were fired and has the most evidence pointing at him, something that doesn't sit well with his wife Zahra Abi Zikri (HEND AYOUB). As these various people comment on the event, the weeks and months pass as government officials try to find the killer and bring them to justice.

OUR TAKE: 4.5 out of 10
If you've ever sat all of the way through the end credits of a movie (to read the names of all of those involved in the production rather than just to watch the outtakes) or are a speed reader who can catch the whirl of tiny names flying by at Mach 3 when said film later plays on broadcast TV, you've probably seen some phrases common to most such pictures.

One is that no animals were harmed during the making of the film (a point that makes you wonder "What about the people?"), while another is something along the lines of "The events and characters depicted in this film are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental. " While not usally present in documentaries or in full form in biopics, the latter phrase almost always is in pure dramatic works, mainly in an attempt to circumvent any sort of potential future lawsuit.

A modified version of that appears at the end of "Death of a President," a fictionalized and faux documentary style offering that mixes actors and real-life political footage to create exactly what the title suggests. Considering the legality of using people and material that are in the public domain, I'd guess that the filmmakers might be off the hook in terms of legal action. Yet, they're certainly going to stir up a hornets' nest with this film that some will see as a cautionary tale of a government run amok and others as a fantasy piece of propaganda aimed directly at liberals.

Viewer reaction will undoubtedly depend on which side of the political fence one usually stands, but there's no denying this will be one of if not the most controversial films of the year. And that's because rather than create a story about a fictional president and an assassination attempt on his life, British writer/director Gabriel Range has used the real George W. Bush as the title character.

Set in 2007 after the assassination has already taken place, the film has been fashioned like a TV documentary looking back at the incident. Although there's no narrator, a number of key figures -- played by actors and ranging in roles from the President's advisor to the head of his Secret Service security detail to the lead FBI forensics scientist working the case's evidence -- are present to discuss in hindsight what they know or think occurred.

Their accounts lead to various flashbacks -- archival and created material seamlessly cut together to look like the real thing -- that unfold chronologically. Accordingly, we see the arrival of Air Force One in Chicago for the President's speech that night at the Economic Club of Chicago. As the various witnesses and experts recount what occurred, we see throngs of protestors outside, the real Bush (rather than an actor impersonating him) giving his speech, and then the fateful shooting.

The later is shot in a way that evokes memories of the attempt on Ronald Reagan's life back in 1981 -- handheld footage that gets very shaky as pandemonium ensues, resulting in just fleeing glimpses of the impact (rather than some sort of highly stylized, slow-motion view that might otherwise occur in a glossy Hollywood production). The press notes say that Bush's face was digitized onto an actor's body for that pivotal scene, but it's all over so quickly that it's hard to tell.

That, of course, serves as the catalyst for what's to follow, and depending on your leaning, that would be the cautionary or propaganda bits. Since the film is portraying a realistic "what if" scenario (complete with contemporary headlines about gas prices, North Korea and its nuclear program and, natch, the Iraq war and debate over whether it's an act of aggression or a hunt to rid the world of terrorists), the events depicted here are guesses of what might follow.

Since the Bush administration has focused so much time, energy, and money on terrorism, that's where Range and co-writer Simon Finch imagine things would continue and even increase. There's passage of the Patriot Act III (giving the executive branch more power and leeway in detaining and trying to find potential terrorists), and the rounding up of suspects based on their ethnicity.

As that plays out, so does the related talk of trying to find the killer and his or her accomplices, all of which leads to another controversial thread about disgruntled and/or psychologically damaged Iraq War I & II vets. Interestingly enough, and beyond including some brief talk about planned retribution against Syria for supposedly being involved in the act, Range doesn't really delve into the political or global repercussions of what's occurred. Instead, he narrows it down to the trampling of civil rights and the related tunnel vision of convicting the killer or at least a terrorist type who would otherwise fit the profile and thus appease the majority of the voting masses.

Yet, despite all of its inherent controversy, thought-provoking premises, and top-notch technical efforts, Range hasn't otherwise made a terribly engaging film, at least on an emotional level. While some points are disturbing -- love him or hate him, the bits showing a real life President being shot and then his successor delivering the eulogy at his funeral (credibly and creatively lifted from some other apparent funeral speech) are obviously disquieting -- I never had any sort of gut reaction to what's presented. Instead, I simply watched the pseudo-documentary proceed from start to finish, never really caring about the shooter's identity (which is the plot thrust that fuels most of the film's second half).

I don't know if that's the filmmaker's intention or not (to make an emotionally level type documentary as might otherwise have really been created after the fact), but the film never engaged me like I thought it would and probably should.

Compelling, but almost more of a novelty act than a truly chilling vision of the not-so-distant future (regardless of whether you lean right or left), "Death of a President" is certain to gain some notoriety simply due to being controversial. Yet, the question remains about whether it would be garnering the same sort of attention if a fictional president rather than the real thing had been its target. The film rates as a 4.5 out of 10.




Reviewed October 25, 2006 / Posted October 27, 2006


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