Kirsty2515 I love history and i particularly enjoy watching films, documentaries, TV series about the assassination of JFK. Each time i watch a depiction of the assassination there is always a different take on what happened or a new conspiracy that gets put out there. This film is completely different to anything else i have seen. It doesn't focus on any one person, any conspiracy theories or even the assassination itself. It focuses entirely on the facts and effects that this tragic event had on the people that witnessed it or had some direct involvement with the aftermath of it. It was refreshing to see a JFK film focus on something more than just the same conspiracy theories and general information that gets put out over and over again.The use of real archived footage from news outlets, TV stations and home videos mixed in with the new film was excellent. It really added to authenticity of the movie. Some of the scenes that come when JFK arrives at Parkland are quite disturbing and hard hitting. Particularly when Zac Efron is administering CPR to the president or when Jackie Kennedy hands part of the presidents skull over to the nurse. But on the other had some scenes are left to the cast to convey for example the Zapruder film does not get shown in full, you are left to see the shock and horror on the characters faces, which is a strange way is just as disturbing as watching it. All of the actors do an amazing job in portraying the trauma, shock and sadness that their real life counterparts would have experienced when this tragedy happened.The way that Peter Landesman has written and directed this film is fantastic. He uses small but obvious details to convey the pain and the grieving of all those involved and those. There is no taking sides. He is not trying to prove Oswalds guilt, or the failings of law enforcement or any other agenda. He is simply showing how people react and what raw human emotion looks like.This is a great factual film. Great cast, great script, great directing. Well worth watching.

Mr Black I had never heard of this film but bought it only because I saw Billy Bob Thornton was in it. It's about the Kennedy assassination but from a totally different perspective than the usual. It is seen through the eyes of the people, the ordinary people who lived it and the impact it had on them. Seeing how camera man Abraham Zapruder was horrified at what he saw takes things to a deeper lever. As does the Lee Harvey's brother, who although innocent of anything, knows his life is changed and so is that of his and Lee's children. My only complaint is the somewhat graphic scene in the emergency room when the doctors and nurses where trying to save the presidents life. In typical modern hollywood style they had to go over the top. The doctors,nurses,, everyone,, was covered in blood. The president was already dead he wouldn't have been squirting blood around the room. There's no reason for the nurses to be drenched in blood. It was too over the top. As one who works in emergency medicine,, this doesn't happen. I was disappointed they went so hollywood and followed the modern version of added gore and blood. Otherwise , a really good film. Well thought out. Great acting all around. Really makes this a personal incident. Thank you.

William Porter Like many people I've read so much about the Kennedy Assassination that I know the names and stories and even the back stories of just about every character in this movie. And having read Bugliosi's books on the topic (both the short facts-only book on which this movie is based and also the very long, devastating thorough take-down of every conspiracy theory), I know the narrative practically the way Bugliosi presents it, minute by minute. Even so, I was gripped by this movie right from the beginning shortly before the assassination and stayed with it right to the poetic, pathetic ending where Oswald is buried in Fort Worth. At the end of the movie, I really felt wrung out.The movie operates a bit like a Greek tragedy, not just in its tragic arc, but also in the fact that it assumes that you the viewer generally know the story. This allows it to cover a huge amount of historical ground in just 90 effectively and efficiently presented minutes of drama. It's a remarkable achievement. There's ten times more info in this short film than in Oliver Stone's ridiculous "JFK" which is twice as long.Stone's 'JFK' indulges in some of the most unfocused teenage fantasizing ever filmed. 'Parkland' on the other hand presents without hype some aspects of the assassination story that show where the federal government did indeed fail: the failure to stop Oswald (the first of the "known wolves") and also the Secret Service's arrogant bullying of the Dallas coroner, in complete violation the governing law. If the Secret Service had followed the law instead of acting like the praetorian guard of a Roman emperor, there's a good chance that conspiracy theories could have died in the cradle as they should have. We'd never have had the questions that arose from the transportation of Kennedy's body back to Bethesda. The other big movie I want to compare this one to is James Cameron's 'Titanic', which is as ridiculous as Stone's 'JFK.' Why oh why did Cameron, having been handed one of the most copiously documented and most dramatic stories of all time, feel the need to embellish it with an adolescent love story? The director of 'Parkland' shows much more artistic discipline not to mention better taste. He knows he's got a helluva story and he sticks very closely to it. So this is a movie for grown-ups. In additional to being accurate history, it's a big black cup of hot drama, served up without cream or sugar. It'll certainly keep you awake.

blanche-2 "Parkland" from 2013 is exceptional for telling the story of President Kennedy's assassination in Dallas in a simple yet extraordinary way, showing us the impact it had on the lives of those involved in it, people thrust into an historic situation.The emotional effect the assassination had on those involved makes Parkland a sad, touching story, with no conspiracy theories, just families, secret service, and hospital workers attempting to absorb what they witnessed. From the near-hysteria of Agent Forrest Sorels when he screams that the Secret Service had failed to protect the President, the dazed Abraham Zapruder (Paul Giamatti) with a bombshell in his hand, the intent of Dr. Carrico (Zach Efron), who refused to stop pounding the chest of the President to make his heart start, to Mrs. Kennedy (Kat Steffens) taking off her wedding ring and putting it on her husband's finger, the panicked ripping apart of the plane so the hearse would fit - the film is loaded with moments like these.I did wonder about a few things. The first is I've always believed there was no real attempt to protect Oswald from being shot - just thought I'd bring that up. Certainly the police were aware that there might be an attempt, and they let Jack Ruby walk right up to him. Contrast that with the striking scene of taking Lyndon Johnson to the plane -- surrounded by secret service, his head pushed down as they ran to the car, ran to the plane. Big difference.The second thing I wondered about - this is regarding accuracy - was the discussion in the hospital about the President's blood type. I thought, and I might be wrong, that when the President or First Lady travels, blood of their type is put aside for them at a hospital in a city where they will be.The second thing I wondered about is everyone calling Mrs. Kennedy "Jackie." Certainly people who had a more formal relationship with her referred to her as Mrs. Kennedy.A final thought - Zapruder sold the film to Life magazine because he admired the publication and, according to this movie, asked that the kill shot frame be omitted. That may or may not be so - another side of it is that the publisher of Life had CIA connections and was not trusted by the FBI. Don't know. I do know that Zapruder gave $25,000 to the widow of the police officer Oswald shot, that the film was sold back to him for $1, and that he donated the copyright to the Dealey Plaza Museum. Just think, if this assassination happened today, how many i-phones the FBI would have collected, and how many news programs would have had access to footage that very afternoon.A great companion piece to this is "Four Days in November," which shows footage of the President, Mrs. Kennedy, and the Johnsons on their trip to Texas. In its own way it's as emotional for the audience, watching President Kennedy with his characteristic humor, charisma, and charm giving a speech, Mrs. Kennedy speaking Spanish -- when we know what's coming.For those who remember the assassination, Parkland will be especially powerful. For those who don't, the movie makes you feel as if you are there.