Movie Review – Parkland (2013)
Most people are familiar with the basic events that occurred during the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Kennedy arrived in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. As his presidential motorcade was going through the city, shots rang out and the president was fatally wounded. Lee Harvey Oswald was quickly captured and accused as being the assassin. Two days later Oswald was shot and killed by Jack Ruby.
What many people do not know is that both Kennedy and Oswald were taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital where a team of doctors tried hard to save both lives. That’s where the 2013 historical documentary film Parkland comes into play.
Parkland tells the story of the events that happened at Parkland Memorial Hospital. We watch as the doctors try to save the life of JFK after he’s struck by an assassin’s bullets. Two days later we see the same doctors try to save Lee Harvey Oswald after he’s shot in the abdomen by Jack Ruby. In addition to the events at the hospital, Parkland also features Abraham Zapruder and his film that shook the world. We also see Oswald’s mother and brother, and how they handled the news of Lee’s actions.
Directed by Peter Landesman, Parkland features a variety of actors including Zac Efron as Dr. Charles James “Jim” Carrico, Jackie Earle Haley as Father Oscar Hubert, Marcia Gay Harden as Head Nurse Doris Nelson, Ron Livingston as FBI Special Agent James P. Hosty, Glenn Morshower as Mike Howard, Billy Bob Thornton as Secret Service Special Agent In Charge Forrest Sorrels, and Paul Giamatti as Abraham Zapruder. Two of the film’s producers are Tom Hanks and Bill Paxton.
Parkland begins on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas.
Parkland (2013) – (c) Exclusive Media Group
We see the everyday people preparing for their day like normal. While some people are at work, whether it’s at Parkland Memorial Hospital or the city’s FBI building, others are lining the streets and preparing for President John F. Kennedy’s arrival. Air Force One lands at Dallas’ Love Field, and the president departs from the plane and enters his limousine for his trip through the city. Secret Service Special Agent In Charge Forrest Sorrels (Billy Bob Thornton) feels that his men are ready to handle the president’s security.
Parkland (2013) – (c) Exclusive Media Group
Over at Dealey Plaza, Abraham Zapruder (Paul Giamatti) and his wife are ready to watch President Kennedy’s tour through the city. Zapruder has a Bell & Howell video camera so that he can film the event. He selects an elevated vantage point and has his camera rolling as the motorcade drives down Houston Street and then slows and makes the sharp left turn onto Elm Street. Suddenly gunfire is heard and the president is hit badly. People panic in the streets and the president’s limousine races to the closest hospital.
Parkland Memorial Hospital receives word that the president is en-route. Head Nurse Doris Nelson (Marcia Gay Harden) informs Dr. Charles James “Jim” Carrico (Zac Efron) that he’ll be needed in the emergency room. Dr. Carrico guesses that maybe the president has the flu.
Parkland (2013) – (c) Exclusive Media Group
The limousine arrives at the hospital and the Secret Service agents quickly get the hospital staff moving. While some agents secure the scene, others help the doctors rush President Kennedy into the nearest operating room. While this is occurring, other agents secure Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson in an isolated room until they have a better understanding of the situation.
Parkland (2013) – (c) Exclusive Media Group
It’s a bloody mess inside of the operating room as the doctors fight to save President Kennedy’s life. Nurse Nelson tries to keep all non-essential people out of the room while also helping the doctors with whatever they need. It’s a helpless battle as President Kennedy has lost too much blood and there’s simply too much damage to some of his vital organs. It doesn’t take long before the president loses the battle and dies in the operating room. Father Oscar Hubert (Jackie Earle Haley) gives the president his last rites.
Word spreads that Abraham Zapruder had recorded the assassination on his video camera. Secret Service Agent Sorrels tracks down Zapruder and gets his story. He has Zapruder show him the place in Dealey Plaza where he recorded his video. After that they head to Dallas News to get Zapruder’s video developed, but they don’t have the technology to transfer Zapruder’s type of film. They head to another location and have the technicians start processing the film.
Parkland (2013) – (c) Exclusive Media Group
News fills the airwaves of President Kennedy’s assassination. Not long after that it’s reported that Lee Harvey Oswald (Jeremy Strong) has been arrested after allegedly killing a Dallas police officer. It’s also mentioned that he’s suspected of killing President Kennedy. Robert Edward Lee Oswald, Jr. (James Badge Dale), Oswald’s brother, hears the news on the radio. So does FBI Special Agent James P. Hosty (Ron Livingston). The name sounds familiar to him, and sure enough, Hosty had received some letters to the FBI from Oswald himself. The man accused of assassinating the president had actually visited that FBI office not too long ago.
Hosty’s boss, FBI Special Agent In Charge Gordon Shanklin (David Harbour), also learns that Hosty had previous contact with Lee Harvey Oswald as well. He chews out the FBI Special Agent when learning about Oswald and his contact with the FBI. Hosty tries to explain that they receive hundreds of letters from similar people each year, and nothing ever happens from them. Obviously, this time there was an exception, and Shanklin is extremely furious.
Parkland (2013) – (c) Exclusive Media Group
After Kennedy’s death, it’s decided that everybody needs to return to Washington, D.C. as quickly as possible. Vice President Johnson is whisked away to the airfield and then rushed onto Air Force One.
Parkland (2013) – (c) Exclusive Media Group
A casket arrives at Parkland and the president’s body is transferred into it. When the Secret Service tries to remove the president’s body from the hospital, Earl Rose (Rory Cochrane), the medical examiner, tries to prevent them from removing the body. He claims that the president is a murder victim and the crime scene occurred in his jurisdiction. The federal government had no right to override the local government. The Secret Service won’t follow Rose’s rules. The men literally force the president’s casket past the Dallas police officers and into a waiting hearse to take it to the airport.
At the airport, it’s determined that the president’s body will not be stored in the lower section like ordinary luggage. The men remove some seats to make room for the casket. The casket arrives and is carried into the aircraft and forced into the interior cabin.
Parkland (2013) – (c) Exclusive Media Group
Robert Oswald and his mother, Marguerite Oswald (Jacki Weaver), are taken to the Dallas police station to be interviewed by the detectives. While Robert is ashamed of his brother’s actions, his mother remains confident that this is all a set-up. She is confident that her son did not assassinate the president. Robert is later allowed to have a few words with his brother. Lee doesn’t say much except to “. . . don’t believe all this so-called evidence.” After the meeting with his brothers, one of the Dallas police detectives strongly recommends that Robert Oswald and his family change their name and move as far from Dallas as possible, and to never return to the city.
After their brief time in the Dallas police station, Robert and his mother are placed in protective custody and moved to a safe house (actually a motel room). Their safety is supervised by Secret Service Agent Mike Howard (Glenn Morshower).
Parkland (2013) – (c) Exclusive Media Group
Meanwhile, Zapruder’s film is successfully transferred. He gives a copy of the film reel to Secret Service Special Agent In Charge Sorrels as originally agreed since it’s a matter of national security. News media organizations are also fighting to get their hands on the other copy of Zapruder’s film. He meets with a representative from Life magazine and finally agrees to sell the film reel to them.
On November 24, Lee Harvey Oswald is being transferred from police headquarters to the county jail when he’s suddenly shot in the abdomen by Jack Ruby. Oswald is rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital and placed in a different operating room than the one where they treated President Kennedy. Agent Sorrels is there in the room as the doctors try to save Oswald’s life. He tells Nurse Nelson that he needs for Oswald to sign a confession for the crime of murdering the president, even if he’s about to die on the operating table. Oswald never regains consciousness and dies there in the operating room, without signing any confessions.
Parkland (2013) – (c) Exclusive Media Group
It’s decided to bury Lee Harvey Oswald in a remote graveyard, a place away from the crowds and media. As Robert and his mother are escorting the casket to the cemetery, they listen to President Kennedy’s funeral on the radio. Volunteers in the cemetery help with carrying the casket to the grave, and there’s a small funeral service for Oswald. Robert then takes a shovel and begins shovelling the dirt into the grave, burying his brother’s body.
In the FBI building, Special Agent In Charge Shanklin gives Special Agent Hosty back his notes and information about Lee Harvey Oswald. Hosty is to destroy all of the evidence and never speak about it. Hosty does so and keeps his job in the FBI, though he’s eventually transferred to a different city.
Parkland ends with notes about the major characters and what happened to them since that fateful day on November 22, 1963.
So is Parkland a good movie?
As a movie that you would sit back and watch in the theater or on a movie night in your home, Parkland isn’t that great. It’s very serious and dramatic. There aren’t any memorable quotes. Don’t expect any sort of soundtrack either.
One has to remember that Parkland is a historical drama. This film showcases the events from the assassination of Kennedy to the death of Lee Harvey Oswald. While everybody knows about the shooting of both men, many people are not that familiar with the other events. This is where Parkland focuses, on those *other* events. It’s fairly interesting if you’re interested in learning more about the story of the assassination, but this part of the story many not interest that many people.
It’s not like Parkland is taking another look into the assassination itself or showing a district attorney track down a conspiracy like in JFK. This is a documentary that shows the events that took place at Parkland Memorial Hospital along with some information about Zapruder along with the Oswald family. While these events are important, they just don’t hold the same interest as other events in President Kennedy’s presidency such as the construction of the Berlin Wall, the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion, or even the Cuban Missile Crisis. As far as most people are concerned, the events surrounding President Kennedy the moment that bullets struck him in Dealey Plaza.
Parkland is a type of film that will quickly find its way to a cable channel such as the Military Channel, History Channel, or the Biography Channel. Truthfully, that’s where a film like this belongs. It’s no surprise that Parkland didn’t do well in the theaters during its limited released. This type of film had direct-to-video written all over it, not that that’s a negative feature.
Naturally, Parkland will be most popular in November around the anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy. For the rest of the year the film will remain mostly forgotten.
Parkland (2013) – movie trailer
In all, Parkland is a fairly interesting historical documentary. It stays away from conspiracies and claims to show honest events, many of which I’ve seen confirmed in other documentaries. The cast was pretty solid and the film moved at a fairly quick pace. Fans of documentaries, American history, and President Kennedy will probably enjoy this film.
