bobby

i saw this one awhile after it was released but nonetheless, here it is...

bobby tells multiple interconnecting stories all occurring on the last day of robert kennedy’s life before being assassinated at the ambassador hotel in 1968. emilio estevez directs and stars as part of the huge ensemble cast. estevez has cast over twenty famous actors, both young and old for this film and I think that stands as the most impressive thing about it. he effectively weaves all the characters stories together but does not establish most of them with much depth. there were several stories that felt tacked on and somewhat inconsequential in comparison with other narratives. while this multiple-stories-in-one-movie thing was interesting and innovative, it has now become clichéd. and considering the thematic concerns of race being tackled amongst the kitchen staff in bobby, it began to feel like i was watching crash all over. this is one of those films where there is no guessing what emotion you are supposed to be feeling at any given moment. the soundtrack is constantly present guiding you through the emotional spectrum, in addition to the often heavy-handed dialogue about tolerance and understanding. no characters are without fault or flaws, but we are made very aware of how we should feel about the characters, no matter how morally ambiguous estevez would have us believe they are. not to say that the actors are to blame; there are many good performances in the film, particularly by sharon stone, shia labeouf, helen hunt, and laurence fishburne, to list a few who come to mind. i just think it’s a shame that the collective talents of all these actors be put to use on a film that to me, was only mediocre. i did find it interesting because i personally knew very little about bobby kennedy and this film combined archival footage with the fictional film to give more realism to the story. i didn’t think this film left much room for different interpretations, as the plot was explicit and left very little room for ambiguity. to sum up, even though it sounds like i didn’t like bobby, i did…i just thought there was potential for a lot more to be done with the story and the cast involved.

trailer