Cast: Raymond J. Barry, Dylan Haggerty
Director: Neil Burger
Producers: Brian Koppelman, David Levien
Screenplay: Neil Burger
Cinematography: Richard Rutkowski
U.S. Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Interview with the Assassin is a valentine to conspiracy theorists. It is also an intelligent and gripping thriller – one that uses the first-person, pseudo-documentary approach to an effective end. Like The Blair Witch Project, Interview with the Assassin plays with reality in such a way that it's easy to forget that what you're watching is a cleverly constructed fabrication, not a representation of something that actually happened.
There have been more conspiracy theories devised about the situations and circumstances of November 22, 1963 than about any other event in American history (except, perhaps, what happened at a place called Roswell). Even four decades later, almost no one seems willing to accept the "magic bullet theory" proposed by Senator Arlen Specter and accepted by the Warren Commission. The thirst to know what really happened – whether Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone or was part of a much larger group – may never be slaked. Truth in this case defines the word "elusive."
However, according to ex-military operative Walter Ohlinger (Raymond J. Barry), Oswald did not act alone. There was a second gunman on the so-called "grassy knoll" in Dealey Plaza, and that man fired the fatal head shot. How does Walter know this? Because, he claims, he was that individual. He makes this revelation in a videotaped confession to out-of-work news cameraman Ron Kobeleski (Dylan Haggerty). Dying of cancer, Walter has decided to come clean. The two take a trip to Dallas, where Walter lays out in meticulous detail his every movement during the early afternoon of November 22, 1963. Thereafter, he and Ron embark upon a journey to find the one man who may be able to verify Walter's claim and answer Ron's paramount question: Why was President Kennedy shot?
Is Walter telling the truth or is he an insane delusional who has lost touch with reality to the point where he believes his story? Are there men following Ron and Walter, or is this paranoia? These are questions viewers will ask themselves as the film unfolds. Writer/director Neil Burger, making his feature debut, does not tip his hand early – in fact, some might argue that he doesn't tip it at all. It should be noted, however, that although the film starts out to be chillingly plausible, it grows progressively less so during the course of the proceedings. But, by the time Interview with the Assassin begins to strain our credulity, we're already hooked.
One primary reason for the film's effectiveness is character actor Raymond Barry, a veteran of more than two dozen films dating back to the 1970s, whose portrayal of Walter is singularly convincing. Cold, irascible, and on edge, this is exactly the kind of demeanor one would expect from someone who could kill a president then live with the secret for forty years. When asked why he did it, Walter replies, "You kill the most powerful man in the world – that makes you the most powerful." We believe him because Barry leaves no room for doubt.
Making a first-person film like this is fraught with perils, and Burger navigates most of them successfully. The end result is not as harrowing as The Blair Witch Project, but this is a different sort of film. Those who do not like shaky, hand-held footage will be annoyed by Interview with the Assassin, but for anyone who can get past that technical aspect (which is necessary to the manner in which the story is presented), this film offers a compelling scenario of what could have happened. And Burger's look back through the recent mists of time is certainly no less likely or fascinating that Oliver Stone's in JFK.
© 2002 James Berardinelli