'Parkland' presents different perspective on JFK assassination

Posted Wednesday, August 21, 2013 at 11:56 AM Central

by John Couture

We all know the facts. The Warren Commission findings and the wacky conspiracy theories are as equally known to Americans of a certain age as the alphabet or basic numbers.

We've seen the Zapruder film hundreds of times, but we know next to nothing about the man himself. We all know that after President Kennedy was shot, he was rushed to Parkland hospital but beyond that we know very little about the place in which JFK was officially pronounced dead.

We know what Lee Harvey Oswald had for breakfast on the morning of the assassination, but we couldn't even name the secret service agents in charge of the detail that day. Well, thanks to Tom Hanks and his Playtone partner in crime Gary Goetzman, that's about to change.

Parkland isn't just your ordinary JFK film. No, instead of focusing on the President of the assassin, this film will dive into the bit part characters on that fateful day in Dallas. The timing couldn't be more perfect either with the 50th anniversary of the assassination coming up in November.

Today, we got our first look at the film thanks to Yahoo! Movies and the star-studded ensemble piece looks quite compelling indeed. Billy Bob Thornton Ron Livingston and Paul Giamatti look to get the heavy lifting parts in the trailer, but don't count out a powerful turn from Marcia Gay Harden as a nurse at the hospital who gives doctor Zac Efron some tough love advice.

That's right, I said Zac Efron and while Tim and I both agree that when he shows up in the trailer, we are taken out of it for a minute, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. His supporting cast is just that strong.

I have to admit that I'm quite the JFK buff, so it will be refreshing to get a film that doesn't get bogged down in either the politics of the event of the potential conspiracy ramifications, but rather simply presents the most dramatic events of that day/weekend. Putting aside all of the years of conspiracy, it is still one of the most compelling and sad events in our history and this film should show that.

Parkland will open in theaters on September 20, but look for a quick turnaround on DVD and Blu-ray to leverage the upcoming 50th anniversary in November.