Interview with the Assassin
| Interview With the Assassin | |
|---|---|
 Dallas. 1963. The second shooter. | |
| Directed by | Neil Burger |
| Written by | Neil Burger |
| Produced by | Brian Koppelman David Levien |
| Starring | Raymond J. Barry Dylan Haggerty |
Release date | November 15, 2002 |
Running time | 85 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,000,000 |
Interview with the Assassin is a 2002 drama/pseudo-documentary starring Raymond J. Barry and Dylan Haggerty.
Plot
An unemployed cameraman, Ron Kobeleski (Haggerty), is asked by his reclusive neighbor, a retired Marine named Walter Ohlinger (Barry) who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, to document a startling confession: that he, not Lee Harvey Oswald, killed President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. A stunned Kobeleski learns that the conspiracy theory that says there was a second gunman on the grassy knoll is true — because he was that second gunman. To prove it, he shows Kobeleski a spent casing from the rifle he used.
A skeptical Kobeleski demands proof, and follows Ohlinger as he attempts to prove his claims. He speaks to people who would seem to support Ohlinger's claims, but others, most notably his ex-wife, point to Ohlinger being a fraud and a lunatic.
The film ends with Walter Ohlinger attempting to assassinate the present-day president and Kobeleski shooting Ohlinger in self-defense at his own home. Ron Kobeleski is arrested and charged as an accomplice. In a short interview with a reporter, he states that "telling his side of the story won't help him at all." The closing credits state that Kobeleski died in prison.
For the most part, Interview with the Assassin is filmed from the perspective of Ron Kobeleski, as if he had shot it with his own camera. On a few occasions, the viewer actually sees Dylan Haggerty, the actor portraying him.
Reviews and commentary
Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly compared its cinematography to The Blair Witch Project and described it as "a verite enigma-thriller, the pieces of which are more gripping than the finished puzzle."[1] David Wrone, author of The Zapruder Film: Reframing JFK's Assassination, stated: "The facts in Interview with the Assassin were so egregiously in error, I had to stop watching it."[2]
See also
References
- ^ Gleiberman, Owen (November 22, 2002). "Interview With the Assassin". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
- ^ Lovell, Glenn (November 21, 2003). "Shedding light on movies about a dark day in Dallas". The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 11, 2013.