Death of a President

The controversy surrounding the release of this film in 2006 was brief, noisy and enough to spur my curiosity. Directed by Gabriel Range (who also co-wrote the screenplay,) this British made film broke a lot of taboos by depicting the fictional assassination of a living and sitting US President, George W. Bush. Hilary Clinton called the film, "despicable." The Bush Administration refused to comment. Reviewers were all over the place - calling it everything from a silly marketing ploy to real genius. It won the International Critics Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. It never hit a movie screen in the US.

Although I spent a good deal of the film trying to figure out just what the message might be, I still found it intriguing. Whether you love the Deciderer in Chief or loathe him, it's bound to make you mighty uncomfortable to watch his assassination - a point that makes you wonder if the filmmaker took into account how that discomfort will effect your overall take on the film. It is, however, fascinating to watch how live footage is seamlessly morphed into an apparent documentary complete with the melodramatic real time interviews we all know and hate. (The state funeral must have been Gerald Ford.)

By the way, the message does finally become apparent in the last 10 minutes or so of the film - and it is a worthy one. So I guess I fall into the category of reviewer who found it worth the watch; it was just that thought provoking, even if it does push the limits of taste. You can see the lackluster website here.