You don’t have to be a George W. Bush fan to find “Death of a President” irritating. This British-made pseudo-documentary is a dead-end exercise, albeit an ingenious technical feat.
Since it screened at the Toronto film festival earlier this fall, the film has caused a bit of controversy. Some theater owners, foolishly taking the bait, have refused to show it, thus giving the film more free publicity than it merits.
The set-up is this: We are supposedly watching a 2008 made-for-TV special, looking back to the assassination of President George W. Bush in October 2007. A handful of suspects create a semblance of whodunit suspense. This is one of the movie’s problems, since a TV news report would not hold back crucial information like this.
“Death” is a blend of real news footage, fake news footage, and actors pretending to be Bush insiders (a speechwriter and members of his Secret Service staff) or FBI agents.
By far the most interesting thing going here is the way real people such as Bush and Dick Cheney (who, naturally, becomes president during the course of the movie) are blended into a completely contrived story line. Director Gabriel Grange makes it look as though these things really happened in the order they’re supposed to have happened.
Especially impressive is a sequence in which it appears Cheney is delivering a eulogy at Bush’s state funeral. This gimmick is seamless.
A couple of things will crimp one’s admiration for this stunt. One is the hard-to-shake queasiness of a speculation about the violent death of a real person.
The other is a question that should kick in about halfway through: Why am I watching this? Grange and co-writer Simon Finch are so careful about not getting explicit with a political message, except for cautionary warnings about the Patriot Act, that the film simply unrolls without any particular surprises.
Public anger over the Iraq War is acknowledged, but Bush is lauded for his down-homey qualities, and comes across as humorous and likable. We see enough of Bush’s persona to feel an actual loss at his fictional assassination.
The film isn’t a sick fantasy, but an excuse for a clever special-effects trick. It isn’t sensationalistic, but serious. And more than a little dull.
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