To say that JFK is a controversial movie, with its depiction of JFK’s assassination being subject to internal conspiracy in the United States, is not an understatement. Oliver Stone, writer, and director of the film, almost added to its problem by prolonging the film’s runtime, as he revealed another actor that he pitched the role to would have put him in a lot of trouble had he said yes.
Donald Sutherland plays the character of Mr. X, a character who has but one scene in the three-hour-long film. However, in one scene, the character embarks on a monologue that talks about how the Secret Service, the CIA, the FBI, the American Mafia, and Lyndon Johnson were all in on the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and bid to install Johnson as president, so that the US does not pull out of the war.
Oliver Stone risked doubling the length of Donald Sutherland’s scene had he cast Marlon Brando
Oliver Stone, speaking on IndieWire‘s podcast, Filmmaker Toolkit, revealed how he was afraid that his offer to Marlon Brando to play the role of Mr. X might blow up in his face. He revealed:
I had been dumb enough to go to Marlon Brando. We all love him, of course. But if he’d said yes I would have been fucked. That scene would have gone on for twice the length.
Stone credited Donald Sutherland with doing some great work in whatever little scene he had in the film, because it delivered a lot of information in a short amount of time, with almost no cost to the dramatic capital of the film, which allowed the scene to be crisp, succinct, and informative for the audience, such that it delivered the core themes of the film and what it wanted to set up going forward.
JFK took inspiration from two books on Kennedy’s assassination
The film JFK takes an alternative look at Kennedy’s assassination, taking into account conspiracies that surrounded the tragic event. The film took major inspiration from two books: On the Trail of the Assassination by Jim Garrison, and Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy.
The film’s controversies were numerous, with multiple editorials going out of their way to lambast the film and its content, despite the critical acclaim the film received for its performances. The film was presented by its director as a ‘counter-myth’, something that challenges the findings and conclusions of the Warren Commission.
The film managed to get a slew of editorials published, accusing Oliver Stone of spreading falsehoods and encouraging conspiracy theories. It also managed to spur the US Congress into introducing and passing the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act, which mandated that all records with regard to the assassination of JFK were to be made public to ensure that there are no blind spots left in the investigation of the assassination and not room for speculation other than that based on hard facts.
