An absolute pressure cooker of a film, “Parkland” presents an intimate and visceral look at events following the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The film’s action begins in the titular building, Parkland Memorial Hospital, where both President Kennedy and assassin Lee Harvey Oswald died, and then expands to encompass new players. It examines the events that transpired in Dallas from completely new vantage points and follows characters that the public never thought to consider.
The film’s main strengths lie in these peripheral figures. It actually comes as a surprise that this film is not on most people’s radars given its star–studded cast, which includes Zac Efron, Paul Giamatti, Tom Welling, Jacki Weaver and Billy Bob Thornton. The subtleties of their performances, especially Welling’s and Giamatti’s as a Secret Service agent and an eyewitness respectively, show the depth of despair and desperation that the nation felt that day. Despite occasionally tinny dialogue, the script allows the actors to let it rip, to powerful effect.
Although based in historical fact, “Parkland” never becomes preachy or caught up in material that the audience has learned from textbooks. It uses the assassination as a backdrop to tell other people’s stories, which is both engaging and harrowing at the same time.
“Parkland” is not an action movie. Yet from the first few minutes, it grips you and doesn’t let go—ultimately hitting like an unexpected emotional freight train.
Grade: A– Rating & Runtime: R, 93 min. See if you liked: JFK
