Onthethreshold To me this film is essentially your average made-for-TV production that isn't really memorable in one way or another. I'm not going to go into the acting, direction or overall plausibility of the storyline as other reviewers have except to say that this movie is basically a telling of the real life relationship between President John F. Kennedy and a Washington socialite named Mary Pinchot Meyer.Meyer had been introduced to Kennedy some years back through various acquaintances, namely Ben Bradlee of the Washington Post fame who at that time was a reporter for Newsweek magazine and Bradlee was in fact married to Mary's sister, Tony. Mary Meyer had in fact been married to a CIA operative named Cord Meyer who as portrayed in this movie was once the idealistic and now cynical and alcoholic ex-husband still looking for a chance to reunite with his wife. Mary was also indeed an exceptionally attractive woman in her day and was artistic as depicted in this film by Gretchen Mol's character. The existence of a diary detailing the nature of the relationship with Kennedy was very much real in 1963-1964 for Mary Meyer and upon her death nearly a year after Kennedy was assassinated, CIA operatives were intent on retrieving the diary for the potentially explosive information it contained not only about the affair but also on Agency operations with a view to the idea that JFK shared secrets with Meyer that may have ultimately resulted in his assassination.The plot of 'An American Affair' does indeed follow this real-life story nearly to the letter and the mystery surrounding Mary Meyer's death lingers today for those that believed she knew much more and indeed let on she knew who might have been responsible for the President's death. That is very much implied in this movie, but I can't help but think this could've been such a great film with a better script. It truly has all the ingredients of being a love story, political thriller and mystery wrapped up in one.6 out of 10.

njmollo An American Affair is a shamelessly anachronistic picture. The characters may dress in period clothes but their performances are very much of this era, 2009. There is liberal use of "modern" swear words that feel out of place in a movie set in this period. My first thought was that racial integration looked to be working a charm in this impression of 1960's America, as Black and White students go to class together, hang-out in the playground and even socialise at each others homes. Racism, still so prevalent in modern day America, is not broached in this movie.The picture begins as a point of view of a young student played superbly by the photogenic Cameron Bright. Cameron Bright is this movies saving grace and all the scenes without him feel forced and unnecessary. If it is established to be his view of the world then how can scenes take place in which he is not present and would have no knowledge? The integration of these scenes is forced and awkward.At one point he follows and listens to some evil CIA types. How would he be able to hear such a guarded conversation? Let alone be undiscovered. The scene is utterly implausible. Also the boy takes photos at night of his alluring next door neighbour. How could he do this with a normal 1960's manual camera? Suspension of disbelief is fine if presented plausibly.Finally the famous Washington stairs location that was used so definitively in The Exorcist (1973) makes a conspicuous appearance. This took me out of the movie completely and cheapened any impact of the ending.

ken-bld Some of the reviewers here obviously have never heard of, or read a book of, historical fiction. This movie did not begin with "True Story". Hence why expect it to be? Indeed, if a film about historical events was 100% accurate it would be so boring we'd then complain about that. Gretchen Mol did a superb job as usual. I first saw her in "Forever Mine". If she gets the right part she always delivers. The part of the young man was also well done. It is difficult to give much info without spoiling the plot. It has drama, romance and tragedy. All well done; the components of good movies. So watch it for yourself. And don't try to make historical comparisons as you do. That's not what this movie is about.Most of the bad reviews here come from those who did not see the typical Hollywood template film they expected. There are no Quentin Tarantino type influences here. It's not the typical American type template that has won the US only 5 Palm D Ors in drama at Cannes in the last 25 years even though we've put out tens of thousands of films! Yes if you expect the usual steamy sex, filthy talk, things blowing up, chase scenes, gun battles and bloody gore-filled murder scenes you will be disappointed. Sadly, there are few American made movies worth the time or expense at a cinema these days but this is one of them. You get to have your cake and eat it too.

dbborroughs 13 year old boy strikes up a relationship with a blond divorce artist who is a friend of JFK. As he tries to survive life in Catholic school she tries to survive before her past and connection to the president come back to haunt her. Okay coming of age film is the sort of thing that has too much on its mind. The provocative art for the film has Gretchen Mol semi nude, looking like Marilyn Monroe and seems to portend a film different then the coming of age drama that is on the screen. Perhaps had I known that this was more of a coming of age Tale I might have liked it more than I did. As it is its an okay film about two people coming together to form a friendship. Worth a shot if you run across it.