When it comes to reflecting on American history, there is always an unfortunate tendency among people to idealize the past and make overzealous claims about the achievements and credentials of our leaders. This tendency can most certainly be found in American history textbooks, where the perspective is always skewed towards inciting feelings of patriotism. We're also told to view history from the perspective of the rich and powerful as if the masses played little or no role in shaping the direction of the country.
This is exactly the problem with 'Bobby', a film which centers on the fateful day in which Robert F. Kennedy was shot and killed. The year was 1968: the United States was embroiled in an increasingly unpopular war in Vietnam, Martin Luther King had just been assassinated, and Americans everywhere were losing confidence in the priorities of the government. Bobby Kennedy, we're told in the film, brought a sense of hope for the future. As he began a promising campaign for president, Bobby Kennedy, like his brother, was gunned down by an assassin in a senseless act of violence.
The movie is directed by Emilio Estevez, the son of Hollywood liberal, Martin Sheen. Although his intentions are always good and the movie is certainly sincere, Estevez simply tries too hard to drive home the message that if only Bobby Kennedy had lived, then America would have fulfilled the hopes and dreams of the 60's. One of the film's most unsubstantiated claims is the idea that Bobby Kennedy wanted to end the Vietnam War. There's really no reason to believe this since the Kennedy family was notorious for being staunchly anti-Communist. Many might be shocked to find out that Bobby Kennedy was very close to the infamous anti-Communist Senator Joseph McCarthy and even worked with him in the 50's on one of his subcommittees investigating "subversives."
The entire movie suffers under the weight of this misguided need to idealize Bobby Kennedy into an almost saintly figure. Although the movie's primary problem is political, another problem is the decision to make the film solely about the day of Bobby Kennedy's assassination. By confining itself to this single day in history, the film avoids offering us any kind of analysis about the man himself, his career, or his politics. Instead, we're offered a moment by moment account of everything that happened that day at the Ambassador Hotel in California, the scene of the crime. We get all the mundane details about the people who worked there or who happened to be there by chance. Everyone from hotel guests, bus boys, the manager, and even a nightclub singer are included.
With a huge ensemble cast, 'Bobby' is clearly trying to emulate the structure of a Robert Altman film. The film outdoes itself, however, by casting so many A-list actors into one film as to seem desperate for our attention. Here's a short list of some of the stars of the film: Anthony Hopkins, Demi Moore, Sharon Stone, William H. Macy, Helen Hunt, Ashton Kutcher, Lindsay Lohan, Elijah Wood, Laurence Fishburne, and Christian Slater. Everyone gives a good performance although few, if any, are given much to do. Bobby Kennedy, for the most part, is conspicuously absent from the film. Instead, the director uses stock footage when it is needed or uses an actor shot from behind or in the distance.
The many characters and subplots don't add much value to the film. The director is simply never able to connect the dots between these stories and how they relate to Bobby Kennedy. There's obviously some grand humanist message here about hope in troubled times. It gets buried, however, because every moment in the film seems staged and contrived. The film also fails to effectively capture this moment in history. Unlike 'United 93', which effectively realized the events of 9/11, 'Bobby' feels artificial. We're too aware of the film's agenda to feel that we are reliving history.
This is exactly the problem with 'Bobby', a film which centers on the fateful day in which Robert F. Kennedy was shot and killed. The year was 1968: the United States was embroiled in an increasingly unpopular war in Vietnam, Martin Luther King had just been assassinated, and Americans everywhere were losing confidence in the priorities of the government. Bobby Kennedy, we're told in the film, brought a sense of hope for the future. As he began a promising campaign for president, Bobby Kennedy, like his brother, was gunned down by an assassin in a senseless act of violence.
The movie is directed by Emilio Estevez, the son of Hollywood liberal, Martin Sheen. Although his intentions are always good and the movie is certainly sincere, Estevez simply tries too hard to drive home the message that if only Bobby Kennedy had lived, then America would have fulfilled the hopes and dreams of the 60's. One of the film's most unsubstantiated claims is the idea that Bobby Kennedy wanted to end the Vietnam War. There's really no reason to believe this since the Kennedy family was notorious for being staunchly anti-Communist. Many might be shocked to find out that Bobby Kennedy was very close to the infamous anti-Communist Senator Joseph McCarthy and even worked with him in the 50's on one of his subcommittees investigating "subversives."
The entire movie suffers under the weight of this misguided need to idealize Bobby Kennedy into an almost saintly figure. Although the movie's primary problem is political, another problem is the decision to make the film solely about the day of Bobby Kennedy's assassination. By confining itself to this single day in history, the film avoids offering us any kind of analysis about the man himself, his career, or his politics. Instead, we're offered a moment by moment account of everything that happened that day at the Ambassador Hotel in California, the scene of the crime. We get all the mundane details about the people who worked there or who happened to be there by chance. Everyone from hotel guests, bus boys, the manager, and even a nightclub singer are included.
With a huge ensemble cast, 'Bobby' is clearly trying to emulate the structure of a Robert Altman film. The film outdoes itself, however, by casting so many A-list actors into one film as to seem desperate for our attention. Here's a short list of some of the stars of the film: Anthony Hopkins, Demi Moore, Sharon Stone, William H. Macy, Helen Hunt, Ashton Kutcher, Lindsay Lohan, Elijah Wood, Laurence Fishburne, and Christian Slater. Everyone gives a good performance although few, if any, are given much to do. Bobby Kennedy, for the most part, is conspicuously absent from the film. Instead, the director uses stock footage when it is needed or uses an actor shot from behind or in the distance.
The many characters and subplots don't add much value to the film. The director is simply never able to connect the dots between these stories and how they relate to Bobby Kennedy. There's obviously some grand humanist message here about hope in troubled times. It gets buried, however, because every moment in the film seems staged and contrived. The film also fails to effectively capture this moment in history. Unlike 'United 93', which effectively realized the events of 9/11, 'Bobby' feels artificial. We're too aware of the film's agenda to feel that we are reliving history.