This week we step away from the assassination and the conspiracies around it, this week we have a biography. But, this is not a biography of JFK it is a biography of his whole family. It opens on election eve of 1960 and then from there it goes forward and backward by ways of flashbacks. But, every flashback is triggered by something that happens in the present. So, the flashbacks work great in this long movie. The flashbacks span several decades and goes into great detail about the lives of the Kennedy family and we find ourselves questioning the acts of the family several times, yet we still like them.
I think one of the main reasons we do continue to like them is because of the cast. The cast here is absolutely wonderful, I can't really think of any other actors that would have been better for the roles. First we have Greg Kinnear as John F. Kennedy, although you will hear him being called Jack a lot through out the miniseries. But, Kinnear does a great job at becoming Kennedy and his development from his younger years to 1963 is great, but his accent does slip in and out and several times. But, that is not enough to detour us. Next, we have Barry Pepper as Robert F. Kennedy, who is really the best in the miniseries, he fits Robert perfectly with how he researched the role and how he moved and talked like him. You will think that Robert is on screen and not Barry.
The next best actor in this series is Tom Wilkinson who plays the father of the Kennedys, Joe Kennedy Sr. And he too gives us a power house performance as the character's urge to win office seemed to drive Wilkinson to make this role his own. Another truly wonderful performance here. The last main character that the show focuses on is Jackie Kennedy, who is played by Katie Holmes. Now, Katie isn't the best actress out there, but in this particular role she actually does a great job. Not only does she look like Jackie she did a good job at becoming her and making us believe we were watching Jackie. The rest of the supporting cast is almost unknown, but they also are fantastic in their characters.
What makes this miniseries great is the writing. As I said the show drives on flashbacks that are keyed by some kind of event that has happened in the present. Because they did that the pacing is not hurt at all, in fact it helps it. We have great writing here that leads into each scene with perfect flow. Along with that the editing is great because of the flow and the flashbacks. The writing helped it but the editing is still top notch here and adds to the story. As does the cinematography, depending on the time period a scene takes place, it looks different to add to the feel of the time. The twenties look darker than the fifties and sixties. It helps with the feel of the series which gives it a more realistic feel.
One thing that is rare about a miniseries is a director directing the whole thing all the way through, I think it only happened one other time, maybe, with Tom Hooper directing all of the miniseries John Adams. But, Jon Cassar directed this whole miniseries and does a great job. He took on a large task with this and brought to life critical events in America's history with great drama, from integration to the Cuban Missile Crises and all the mini-crises that the Kennedys go through. A fantastic job by a mostly unknown T.V. director.
We also have great costumes here with each and every piece being recreated from history, from Jackie Kennedys popular dresses, to JFK's good looking suits and his hidden brace that he secretly wore, to even Marilyn Monroe's short appearance dresses that she could barely walk in. A good and accurate to history design team for the costumes. Set designs were also right on the money since they recreated several historical places from the Kennedys lifetime. The Oval office looks perfect and just like it was in the early 1960's down to the smallest detail on JFK's desk. The bringing back to life of the Kennedys home and the 1920's was also very well done.
Now, this miniseries is no Band of Brothers or John Adams, but it is a good one because of the cast and good drama that we get. It has eight episodes that are each about forty five minutes long, so you can easily watch the entire miniseries in a week. But, remember this is biography of one of the riches families in American history and tells you things that most people might not want to know about one of our greatest presidents. The secret lives of the Kennedys are brought out in this miniseries in very good detail and adds to the drama. This is a good biography with good writing, great acting, and great direction that makes for great entertainment.
3.5/4 Stars.
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