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The Kennedys

The Kennedys (2011)

April. 03,2011
|
7.6
| Drama

The story of the most fabled political family in American history, told in a manner similar to The Godfather: a manipulative, egocentric father determined to live out his own ambitions through his sons, who in turn spent their lives dancing to his tune while at the same time trying to stand on their own. This is history through personality - the tangled relationships through which paint a picture of one of the most turbulent periods of the modern age. Viewers will be upstairs at the White House, not in the Cabinet Room. Through iconic events in history - the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the civil rights struggle, the mob connection - viewers will learn about the lesser known, yet critical personal stories.

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Reviews

Nonureva
2011/04/03

Really Surprised!

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Lawbolisted
2011/04/04

Powerful

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ShangLuda
2011/04/05

Admirable film.

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KnotStronger
2011/04/06

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

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Desertman84
2011/04/07

"The Kennedys" is an eight-part miniseries that chronicles the lives,triumphs and tragedies of the Kennedy family.The cast includes Greg Kinnear, Barry Pepper, Katie Holmes, and Tom Wilkinson together with Diana Hardcastle,Kristin Booth,Chris Diamantopoulos,Charlotte Sullivan and Serge Houde.This historical drama was written by Stephen Kronish and directed by Jon Cassar.The series was centered during the 1960's and how Joseph Kennedy, Sr. shaped his sons John and Robert to become two of the most influential men during the decade.The focus of personal stories was the relationship between the brothers as well as their respective relationship with their father.The political events during that decade also fell into the background such as the Cuban Missile Crisis,Bay Of Pigs and the Civil Rights Movements as well as their extramarital affairs particularly John and Marilyn Monroe as well as that of Robert and Marilyn Monroe.Added to that is also recalls the scandals that the most fabled political family that were involved in.While it was said to be an exhaustive research of the Kennedy family,the absence of many members were both controversial and intriguing.The stories of Edward,Kathleen, Eunice, and Jean were definitely missing.But nevertheless,the viewer is treated to a great stories of the members featured especially as we get to know how the role of Joseph Sr as a father of to his sons which has yet to be told in many films and TV miniseries featuring the Kennedy family.Aside from that,we are treated to a lot of strong performances from the cast especially Wilkinson and Pepper.Overall,it is an outstanding mini-series that one would surely enjoy.

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Andreapworth
2011/04/08

I was 6, living in Dallas, when this occurred. I just remember my Mom on the phone saying "oh no, oh no". And she hadn't even voted for Kennedy.I just know that whenever anybody visited Dallas after that, they ALL wanted to go to the school book depository, as well as the famous grassy knoll. Sometimes, they even wanted to go on to Parkland. Sigh.One of our neighbors from church was also a Dallas policeman, and he was in charge of 'guarding' Mrs. Kennedy and then V.P. Johnson. He had a lot of quiet stories to tell.I thought this 'film' handled Oswald well, as the loner that he was. I'm just glad that he was taken out of the picture early on.Katie Holmes was great as the poor Mrs. Kennedy. Maybe without the 'finishing school' touch, but she was spot-on, as were the other actors, although I didn't think Rose Kennedy was well represented. Nor do I think the actor portraying Lyndon Johnson was a good choice. But maybe that's because I later went to school in Austin.Again, not a nice memory for this city, for sure. But this 'film' handled Mrs. Kennedy's miscarriage well and showed it as the real turning point in their lives. So many movies have been made about this event. Speaking as a Dallas native, although a very young native, it left its mark on the city.

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mcpasztori
2011/04/09

At first, this looked as a thorough portrayal of the Kennedys and their historical impact. Unfortunately, it merely looked – due perhaps also to the History logo during the pilot episode. It disappeared later – and rightly so. Without trying to be political in my assessment, it is obvious that the producers were keen to show the negative side of the Kennedys, giving credit to every infamous rumour about them (both founded and unfounded), including JFK, yet failing to ascribe him/them actions or achievements which influenced later events and human history in general. I was surprised by the total omission of a key moment, i.e. when Allen Dulles, the almighty director of the CIA was deservedly fired by JFK after the Bay of Pigs fiasco, together with CIA deputy director, general Charles P. Cabell. Given the numerous trivial events presented, this omission can hardly be a mere mistake: both Dulles and Cabell bore plenty of grudge against JFK for the destruction of their careers to have a good motive to act against him. Instead, we are led to believe that only the Chicago mobster Sam Giancana may have fostered hatred towards the Kennedy administration. And lo, the mayor of Dallas on 22 November 1963 was Earle Cabell, the general's brother, whilst Allen Dulles was called to be a member (!) of the Warren Commission to "investigate" the murder of the man he had hated most. We are still served the "lone gunman" myth, revived again by Vincent Bugliosi. By the way, folks: I actually read the complete Warren Report and all the 26 volumes of the Warren Commission Hearings, as well as Gerald Posner's Case Closed and Bugliosi's Reclaiming History. Actually, these two authors convinced me – much contrary to their intent – that there was a conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy. Since the series was not about solving the assassination, they should have omitted the images with Lee Harvey Oswald and portray the event e.g. from the viewpoint of those sitting in the presidential limousine. It is simply ridiculous to see LHO drinking a Coke before the shooting, when he was seen buying one just a couple of minutes after it – only one example of a sloppy work of historical research. The people have had enough biased media-propaganda concerning these painful events. Other crucial occasions which should have been presented to give us a fair depiction of who Jack and Jackie were and what they meant to the world: no mention of their truly triumphant travel to Europe, no real credit for Jackie's total conquest in France, her restoration of the White House to a glory it never knew before and since (although some of it was hinted at in passing), her tour in India and Pakistan, her exceptional language skills, humour, majestic behaviour and personal impact in key moments, including e.g. her speech in Spanish to console the anti-Castro Cubans released from Castro's prisons after the Bay of Pigs. As an Eastern-European citizen who had first-hand experience of what communism really was about, I could not believe that they actually omitted JFK's tremendously inspiring speech in Berlin, his famous comparison between the ancient pride of "civis Romanus sum" (I am a Roman citizen) and the contemporary pride "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a citizen of Berlin) – a still resounding message after half a century. My parents were clinging to these words for decades in our part of the world – how can filmmakers simply avoid such a magnificent moment?There is hardly any mention of JFK's increasing support for Martin Luther King, although his backing of the civil rights movement is acknowledged. No mention of his stance against the moral lowliness of U.S. Steel to increase prices during a very delicate time for US economy. JFK, as most great men, had big flaws, but great achievements also, worthy of being remembered. Interestingly, most of the above events were masterfully presented in the "Kennedy" mini-series of 1983.The acting was mostly all right, with Tom Wilkinson doing an excellent job as Joseph P. Kennedy. He is better than E. G. Marshall in the 1983 version, partly because of the differing portrayals of J.P. Kennedy in the two productions. I would almost say that Greg Kinnear was radiant in the role of JFK – if I had not seen and heard (!) Martin Sheen, who had set such a high standard regarding the Boston accent (!), pronunciation, speech pauses, movements and gestures of JFK, that it shall require a superhuman effort from any actor to at least equal his performance. The same goes for the comparison between Katie Holmes and Blair Brown: in the light of Jacqueline Kennedy's media appearances as well as her recently released audio tapes, Brown's performance was far closer to her real personality. John Shea was also far better playing RFK than Barry Pepper, although the latter's effort is laudable. And in 1983 they knew there was a Ted in the family! One last, and indeed painful comparison: do not watch Enrico Colantoni in the role of J. Edgar Hoover if you have seen Vincent Gardenia doing it in 1983! In all honesty, apart from Tom Wilkinson, every actor in this new series fell far behind their peers of 1983. It makes you wonder: did these producers actually watch that one? All in all, if I had not seen the 1983 "Kennedy" series, which focused only upon JFK's time in office, I would consider rating this one with 5. Even so, by comparison, this new one, including historical accuracy, acting and directing, cannot make it higher than 3.5 – and I am being generous, the more so since these producers have shown elsewhere that they can do so much better. As a complete addict of "24", I would rather have preferred Jon Cassar and Joel Surnow to give us another 24 hours of Jack Bauer's fight against injustice than this average melodrama.

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Tony Heck
2011/04/10

"Your name is Kennedy & Kennedy's never come second." The controversial mini-series passed on by the History Channel that shows the highlights of the life of JFK (Kinnear) and RFK (Pepper). Beginning with the family preparing for election night and following them, with flashbacks, until the assassination of Bobby. Being a huge history buff, and more specifically a Kennedy buff I was very much interested in this. When I saw Greg Kinnear and Barry Pepper playing the roles of Jack and Bobby I was excited to see them in this. I was not disappointed at all. While some of the events were not exactly as they happened (Joe finding out about the assassination for one) this is still a very good account of the life of the men. Being a mini series and so much to cover almost all of the events are glossed over quickly, (the Cuban Missle Crisis is begun and finished in 42 minutes) but the important aspects are in this. The acting is fantastic from everyone, and the casting is perfect, much like Jaoquin Phoenix in "Walk The Line" no make up (besides the hair) was used and you swear that Kinnear is actually JFK. I can see why the History Channel did pass on this series though in the fact that it's not 100% accurate, but this is very much worth watching. This can easily stand up to (and in my opinion surpasses) the "John Adams" series. Overall, a fantastic award worthy series. Both for the series and the acting. Biggest problem with awards will be who to give supporting award to...Pepper or Wilkinson. Watch this! I give it an A.Would I watch again? - I will buy this.*Also try - Thirteen Days

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