Oliver Stone’s 1991 film JFK, loosely based on the books On the Trail of the Assassins by Jim Garrison and Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy by Jim Marrs, is ostensibly an attempt to explore the various theories regarding what happened the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas in November of 1963 (Howe, 1991). Beginning with a video montage set to impressive military music and capitalizing on the use of television footage in its own aspect ratio, leaving ample empty space on the screen, the movie details the only criminal case in the country that charged anyone with conspiracy in the death of the president or called into question the results of the Warren Commission. At the same time, it takes a look into the personal life of Garrison as he dealt with both internal and external pressures in bringing this case to trial. Because of the way in which Stone goes about detailing the development of various theories as to what happened that afternoon in Texas, Stone’s interpretation makes it clear in a very public way that at the least, the Warren Commission could not have been correct in its findings when it ruled a lone gunman achieved the death of a president. By mixing truth with conjecture and historical records with staged and choreographed scenes, Stone has created a film that nearly defines its own genre.
Through his use of historical footage, recordings and photographs, Stone is able to capture a sense of the historic in JFK that is rarely seen in films that aren’t strictly within the documentary classification. By tracing through several series of events including those that took place during Garrison’s investigations as well as those leading up to the death of the president and some of the events that followed it, the film could be considered a documentary. However, it is not a documentary. There are several places in which Stone has been forced to rely on conjecture, hearsay and flimsy evidence to support the claims made within the text of the movie. Several characters portrayed in the story never actually existed either, but are instead composite characters of individuals recorded in the written record. It is here, also, that Stone moves into the realm of fiction as he explores or mentions some of the major conspiracy theories that have been raised and speculates as to time lines, actions, events and connections. The consistent build up of evidentiary material creates a sense of sustained suspense that has qualified the film for placement in the political horror genre in some circles; however, the film is most often described, especially by Stone himself, as a drama (Travers, 1992).
The overall style of the film emphasizes authenticity regardless of whether the footage being shown is authentic news coverage or movie-produced recreations. The video montage of the first section of the film establishes its link with reality through its use of almost exclusively actual news footage of the president and his family, as well as important events of the time such as Eisenhower’s farewell address to the nation, Kennedy’s narrow margin of victory in winning the election and details of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam situation. The video is left in its television-sized format, surrounded by plenty of black space, making the theater dark and bringing the mood of the audience into alignment with the seriousness of the images being shown. Military-styled music, heavy on the drums, further emphasizes this attitude throughout the montage, although various voiceovers are heard detailing the important information regarding these events. The length of this montage might be considered a mistake by some who worry about flagging attention in the American audience, but the military music serves as a constant attention-getter while the voiceovers change forms every so often, from that of a newscaster to that of the president to that of an announcer. Inserted scenes such as the footage of Jerry Belknap, claimed in the movie to have been unidentified and vanished, having an epileptic seizure moments before the shooting, are integrated so smoothly as to appear a part of the news footage scenes that have been shown to this point. However, the gradual reduction of the music to only rhythmic, heartbeat-like strikes on the drum help create a dramatic tension leading up to the flash of a completely black screen, the sound of shots being fired followed by the almost equally dark CBS New Bulletin screen and newscaster voiceover announcing the news that the president had been shot. The first full screen footage seen by the audience is that of the Zapruder film documenting the president’s final moments within a nearly silent environment. All that can be heard is the hollow, wind-like noise such as that made by an early video camera. The silence, as opposed to the screams and other crowd noise one would expect in such a situation, is eerie, causing many to catch their breath in an unconscious reaction to the extreme shock of the moment.
Throughout the film, atmosphere and color play a large role in defining what the audience is expected to feel. Interiors are frequently dark, smoky and full of questionable spaces in which all kinds of shady deals might take place. Even in open spaces, such as the horse track at which Garrison tracks down Jack Martin, an element of the sinister is implied in the presence of a man in dark suit and sunglasses sitting not far away in the stands. The testimony gathered here is also colored in murky shades as Martin is dressed in dullish brown clothing and his flashback memories are interspersed with the pounding hooves of the horses as they churn up the mud of the racing course. Scenes involving conversations between alleged conspirators are always shown in areas filled with smoke and amorphous space. Here there are no boundaries and anyone might be standing mere inches away. While Garrison sits at home reading court testimony in relation to the shooting, the Warren Commission court itself is shown in silhouette as a ray of sunshine, the hope of the nation, fails to illuminate any of the subjects in the room, serving only to play with the dust filling the air. Garrison’s repeated statement at this point, “Ask the question, ask the question”, serves to bring attention to this fact of light without illumination and a maddening increase in obscurity. Not only using atmosphere, but colors to paint a picture of shadowy happenings, Stone rarely allows any strong colors to be observed in most of the scenes. With the exceptions of red, green and blue, all of the colors involved in the film are muted or washed out, helping to project a feeling of gravity into the investigation’s progress. The example discussed previously regarding the color brown during the interview with Jack Martin as well as that of the comforting browns of Garrison’s office at the opening of the movie are only two of many examples throughout of how Stone uses these muted colors to initiate emotional response among his viewers.
When strong colors do appear, they are impossible to miss and serve to underscore emotional messages contained within the film. The color red is used as an indicator of danger throughout the film, only appearing when someone is in physical danger or else in danger of discovering the director’s supported conclusions. In many cases, the proximity of the red item and the depth of shade helps to indicate how much that person will be personally affected by the events that are about to occur. The color blue also makes some strong points throughout the movie, interestingly used both to portray truth and justice as well as obscurity and confusion. The first time Garrison’s office building is shown, the camera is looking up at it and the pure blue sky above it, giving a sense of relief and clarity. Green, on the other hand, is most often used to denote healing or safety. Beginning with the inclusion of the treetops in the opening scene on Garrison’s office building, green begins to represent safety and health. In a film such as this, it isn’t seen often, but is noticeable within Garrison’s house as he interacts with his family and also prominent when Garrison talks with assassination eyewitnesses at Dealey Plaza.
The use of color and black and white film footage further adds to the impact of color within the film. Although black and white is typically seen to be reflective of things that have happened in the past of the characters, Stone allows current events to be shown in terms of black and white footage on televisions within homes, offices or bars instead. Meanwhile, scenes such as the Zapruder film, which was obviously film shot in the past of the characters, are shown in full color. Rather than playing on the ideas of past and present in chronological sequence, Stone uses this technique of switching seemingly unpredictably between black and white and color to bring immediacy to the actions taking place. Rather than allowed the assassination itself remain in the past, Stone brings it into the present by presenting it in color. Rather than shifting focus of the movie onto the events surrounding Lee Harvey Oswald, he shows Oswald in black and white only, thereby leaving him comfortably in the past. By combining 8 mm film footage, television footage and film footage within the film, Stone is also imbuing it with a sense of history, authenticity and time as audiences recognize the different formats and failings.
In terms of producing evidence to support a single conspiracy theory, Oliver Stone was unsuccessful in the film JFK, but in terms of producing an emotionally impacting film that called into question the results of the Warren Commission and inciting public reaction, Stone’s film is brilliant. Through the use of subtle techniques such as variety of film types, mixing of black and white and color film, limited color usage, the use of original footage with produced images and, to some extent, subliminal messages, Stone reaches out to the emotions of his audience through his portrayal of New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison as he pursued his investigation of Clay Shaw, both from a professional viewpoint as well as the effects this investigation had on his personal family. By doing so, he was able to incite public reaction to effect change, namely the formation of the ARRB in 1992 and the subsequent release of information that had previously been unavailable, either through government order or because people had not yet been interviewed regarding what they saw that day in Dealey Plaza.
Works Cited
Howe, Desson. “JFK.” Washington Post. (1991).
Stone, Oliver. (1991). JFK [motion picture]. United States: Warner Home Video.
Travers, Peter. “JFK.” Rolling Stone. (1991). Web.