The Once and Future King: Emilio Estevez and Bobby
The year was 1968, and the campaign for the President is in full swing. The eventual winner, Richard Nixon, handily cruised to a victory over fellow Republicans George Romney, Nelson Rockefeller and Ronald Reagan. However, on the Democratic side, the nomination was up in the air, lending even more credence to the Will Rogers phrase “I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat”. Sitting President Lyndon Johnson was eligible for re-election; however choose to withdraw after a particularly strong showing by Gene McCarthy in New Hampshire, and internal polling which showed him trailing badly in the next primary – Wisconsin. And of course, the final straw was Robert F. Kennedy throwing his hat into the ring.
Kennedy, announcing his intention to run in March of 1968, began building momentum and won the critical California Primary on June 5th, before he was shot dead by a Palestinian assassin on the night of his grand victory.
Enter Emilio Estevez, son of the great President Barlett, who, in typical Hollywood fashion, has produced a film, “Bobby,” dedicated to the events surrounding the Kennedy shooting. The movie is centered on the guests, hotel staff and Kennedy campaign workers at the Ambassador on the day of the Kennedy California primary victory. Kennedy himself is an invisible presence, drawn from historical footage.
Interwoven throughout the film are historical speeches by Kennedy, and convoluted subplots involving racism, feminism, adultery, the passage of time, the nature of the universe, drugs, hippies, youthful optimism, and love. It’s a grand, sweeping statement. Unfortunately, its all Hollywood tripe.
Though the dialogue is forced, and the soundtrack is used in an unbearable manner, attempting to elevate the mundane into the profound, Estavez’s greatest sin is his elevation of Kennedy to mythical status, aggrandizing him as a larger-than-life force, which unites and binds. Throughout the film, the optimism of Kennedy’s progressive campaign lifts the other characters and carries them on a journey of self-discovery and introspection.
The final emotional climax is the powerful scene of Kennedy’s assassination (which is probably the high point of the movie), which ties the intricate subplots together and unifies all the characters. Kennedy’s death then represents the death of an American Dream unfulfilled, the death of a certain optimistic political spirit and the brief unification and amalgamation of men and women of extraordinarily different backgrounds, circumstances and needs.
Apparently, Estevez did not do his homework. The best lines Edward Kennedy ever delivered were spoken at Robert’s eulogy. “My brother,” Kennedy thundered, “need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life, to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it.” This is crucial. Estavez portrayal of Kennedy as a unstoppable deified force rather than a human being is more of a dishonor than a tribute.
Kennedy, announcing his intention to run in March of 1968, began building momentum and won the critical California Primary on June 5th, before he was shot dead by a Palestinian assassin on the night of his grand victory.
Enter Emilio Estevez, son of the great President Barlett, who, in typical Hollywood fashion, has produced a film, “Bobby,” dedicated to the events surrounding the Kennedy shooting. The movie is centered on the guests, hotel staff and Kennedy campaign workers at the Ambassador on the day of the Kennedy California primary victory. Kennedy himself is an invisible presence, drawn from historical footage.
Interwoven throughout the film are historical speeches by Kennedy, and convoluted subplots involving racism, feminism, adultery, the passage of time, the nature of the universe, drugs, hippies, youthful optimism, and love. It’s a grand, sweeping statement. Unfortunately, its all Hollywood tripe.
Though the dialogue is forced, and the soundtrack is used in an unbearable manner, attempting to elevate the mundane into the profound, Estavez’s greatest sin is his elevation of Kennedy to mythical status, aggrandizing him as a larger-than-life force, which unites and binds. Throughout the film, the optimism of Kennedy’s progressive campaign lifts the other characters and carries them on a journey of self-discovery and introspection.
The final emotional climax is the powerful scene of Kennedy’s assassination (which is probably the high point of the movie), which ties the intricate subplots together and unifies all the characters. Kennedy’s death then represents the death of an American Dream unfulfilled, the death of a certain optimistic political spirit and the brief unification and amalgamation of men and women of extraordinarily different backgrounds, circumstances and needs.
Apparently, Estevez did not do his homework. The best lines Edward Kennedy ever delivered were spoken at Robert’s eulogy. “My brother,” Kennedy thundered, “need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life, to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it.” This is crucial. Estavez portrayal of Kennedy as a unstoppable deified force rather than a human being is more of a dishonor than a tribute.
