Death of a President

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This article is about a British film. For the book on the assassination of John F. Kennedy, see The Death of a President.
Death of a President
Directed by Gabriel Range
Written by Gabriel Range
Simon Finch
Starring Hend Ayoub
Brian Boland
Becky Ann Baker
Music by Richard Harvey
Cinematography Graham Smith
Editing by Brand Thumim
Distributed by Newmarket Films
Release date(s) September 10, 2006
Running time 115 minutes with commercials, 93 minutes without
Country UK
Language English, Arabic
IMDb profile

Death of a President is a fictional documentary about the assassination of 43rd United States President George W. Bush. It is directed by British filmmaker Gabriel Range. The film uses archive footage, actors, and computer effects to portray an assassination of the 43rd American president. The film covers topics of civil disobedience, racial profiling, the reduction of civil liberties, sensationalism, and just-war theory.

The film premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, and was aired on the More4 channel in the UK on October 9. It was then aired on Channel 4 in the UK on October 19, 2006 — a year to the day before the events portrayed in the film.

Newmarket Films purchased the U.S. distribution rights for $1 million.[1] The film is rated-R.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

A faux documentary broadcast in 2008 gives a news account, with talking head interviews, of the assassination of President of the United States George W. Bush on 19 October 2007. The fictional TV news broadcast relates how a hidden sniper fatally shot the president following an economic speech at the Chicago Sheraton Hotel, in front of which an anti-war rally was being held. A man of Syrian origins, Jamal Abu Zikri, becomes the prime suspect.

Vice President Dick Cheney, promoted to president, uses the possible al-Qaeda connection of the suspect to push his own agenda. He calls for "Patriot Act 3", giving the FBI, police, and other government agencies increased investigative powers on U.S. citizens and others, and contemplates an attack on Syria.

After Zikri is convicted based on dubious forensic evidence, the report indicates that the perpetrator is most likely an American, the father of a soldier who had died in the line of duty in Iraq. The assassin blames Bush for the death of his son and commits suicide after murdering Bush. His suicide note reads: "There's no honor in standing for an immoral cause. George Bush killed our David and I can't forgive him". Ten months after the assassination, however, Zikri remains in prison with government officials holding up his appeal.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Reception

The idea of the film received substantial criticism from politicians who had not viewed the movie but believed the subject was exploitative and in bad taste. The Republican Party of Texas described the subject matter as "shocking" and "disgusting".[2] Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) told The Journal News of Rockland, Westchester and Putnam counties, New York, at the annual New Castle Community Day in Chappaqua, "I think it's despicable. I think it's absolutely outrageous. That anyone would even attempt to profit on such a horrible scenario makes me sick".[3] Co-screenwriter Simon Finch responded to the criticisms and said Clinton had not seen the film when she made her comments.[4] The Bush Administration made no comment on the film. An extra named Robert Kramer, who appeared in the film as one of the ropeline extras during the assassination scene, asked to have his image edited out, alleging the filmmakers misled the actors as to the true intent of the pseudo-documentary.

Two of America's biggest cinema chains, Regal and Cinemark, refused to screen the film,[5][6] which was distributed in the U.S. by Newmarket Films. CNN and NPR would not run ads for the movie.[7]

Critics were mixed in their assessment, with the Metacritic aggregate site giving it a 49 ("generally mixed") rating based on 30 reviews[8], while Rotten Tomatoes gives it at 33% ("rotten") based on 83 reviews. [9] Time magazine's Richard Corliss called it "[e]ngrossing but not enthralling", putting it in context with fictional political homicides from The Assassination of the Duc de Guise (1908) to Frank Sinatra's Suddenly (1954), as well as such TV series as 24, concluding it was "not an incendiary documentary but a well-made political thriller".[10] J. Hoberman in The Village Voice found it "[d]ramatically inert but a minor techno-miracle" and that it "skews more theoretical than sensationalist.... Bush is presented as a martyr".[11] James Berardinelli says that "...if this was a serious examination of the possible long-term ramifications of George Bush's current foreign policy... it might be justifiable. The decision to use Bush rather than a fictional representation of him is for no reason other than self-promotion. That makes Death of a President crass in addition to being dull and sloppily assembled." [12]

Those who praised it include Rex Reed of The New York Observer, who provided the filmmakers with the quote "Clever, thoughtful, and totally believable. This is a film without a political agenda that everyone should see"[13], and Peter Howell of the Canada's Toronto Star, who said, "The film's deeper intentions ... elevate it into the company of such landmark works of historical argument as Peter Watkins's The War Game, Costa-Gavras's Z and, closer to home, Michel Brault's Les Ordres. Every thinking person should see Death of a President".[14] Frank Lovece of Film Journal International said the film's condemnation "by politicians and pundits from James Pinkerton to Hillary Clinton is understandable and completely predictable: They can't not comment, so when they do they have to play to their audiences. None of them seriously believe that this work of fiction will really make someone take a pot-shot at the president, and anyway, the attempt on President Ronald Reagan's life came out of a crazy guy's fascination with Jodie Foster, so you may as well decry movies starring blonde former child actresses".[15]

Death of A President received attention on CNN
Death of A President received attention on CNN

[edit] Awards

The film won the International Critics Prize (FIPRESCI) at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival.[16]

[edit] Trivia

  • According to the Village Voice, when the chief surgeon says he has "never seen such a strong heart in a man of the president's age", the comment is an "obvious reference" to Ronald Reagan, and that the eulogy delivered by Cheney in the movie was a news clip of Cheney's real-life Reagan eulogy.[11]

[edit] See also

Other films on fictional assassinations

Media on the potential assassination of George Bush

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Spiegelman, Arthur. Bush assassination film set for U.S. release. Reuters. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
  2. ^ "Row over Bush TV 'assassination'", BBC News, 1 September 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
  3. ^ Worley, Dwight R.. "Sen. Hillary Clinton blasts Bush assassination film", Tne Journal News, 16 September 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-08. (article removed; cached site)
  4. ^ Interview, Canada AM (Oct. 24, 2006)
  5. ^ "US theaters refuse to screen 'Death of a President'", Asian News International (ANI) via Yahoo.com, 7 October 2006. Retrieved on 2006-11-01.
  6. ^ "US cinemas reject President film", BBC News, 7 October 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-08.
  7. ^ "CNN, NPR refuse ads for assassination film", Reuters via MSNBC.com, 24 October 2006. Retrieved on 2006-11-01.
  8. ^ Metacritic: Death of a President
  9. ^ RottenTomatoes: "Death of a President"
  10. ^ Time (posted Sept. 11, 2006): "Who Killed George Bush?" (review of Death of a President), by Richard Corliss
  11. ^ a b The Village Voice (posted Oct. 24, 2006): "Assassination Tango" (review of Death of a President), by J. Hoberman
  12. ^ James Berardinelli's Reel Views - Review of "Death of a President"
  13. ^ Death of a President official site: Reviews index
  14. ^ Toronto Star (posted Sept. 11, 2006), "D.O.A.P. Terrifies with Realism" (review of Death of a President), by Peter Howell
  15. ^ Film Journal International ((posted Oct. 24, 2006): Review of Death of a President, by Frank Lovece
  16. ^ CBS (Sept. 16, 2006): "'Death of a President' Scores TIFF Critics' Prize"

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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