The rumors are true, sort of. There's no denying that Death of a President is one provocative movie — but, skillfully made though it is, the film's provocations amount more to cheap tabloid thrills than to any genuine engagement of hearts and minds. There's more than a little that's annoying about Death of a President, but there's virtually nothing here to justify chains like Regal Cinemas banning the movie as "offensive" — an action sure to beef up this not particularly remarkable film's ticket revenues at the theaters smart and greedy enough to show it.
The hook here is exactly what the movie's title spells out in no uncertain terms. Using real archival footage, doctored real footage and flat-out fake footage (shot and manipulated to pass for real), director Daniel Range's faux docudrama imagines the 2007 assassination of George W. Bush. Range blends his historical "re-creation" with a series of staged talking heads who walk us through the events of that fateful day, and the film's first half carries a lurid but undeniable kick as we watch the President on his way to meet his inexorable end.
Death of a President isn't bad during its first half as it details the assassination and events leading up to it, but the film completely falls apart during a last act depicting the aftermath of Bush's murder. By turns dull and preachy, Range's movie dutifully ticks off a string of stereotypical events — Arab and Muslim suspects are singled out (all unfairly, of course); newly sworn in President Cheney begins picking fights with everyone in sight — and the film fizzles out in an extended courtroom sequences and a slew of faulty forensic evidence. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that watching Bush kick the bucket offers a visceral jolt better than watching Godzilla stomp Tokyo, but the rest is a bit of a slog.
Death of a President (PG-13) Stars Hend Ayoub, Brian Boland, Becky Ann Baker, Robert Mangiardi, Jay Peterson and Michael Reilly Burke. Opens Oct. 29 at local theaters. 3 stars
This article appears in Oct 25-31, 2006.
