Written by Simon Finch, Gabriel Range
Starring Hend Ayoub, Brian Boland, Becky Ann Baker, Robert Mangiardi, Jay Patterson, Jay Whittaker, Michael Reilly Burke, James Urbaniak, Neko Parham, Seena Jon, Christian Stolte and Chavez Ravine
Genre: Crime / Drama / Mystery / Thriller
Country: UK
Runtime: 90 minutes
MPAA Rating: Rated PG (not recommended for children).

Evaluation: 7.5/10
by Greg Ferguson






The thought has crossed many minds before: Wouldn't the world be a better, safer place if someone just killed President Bush? Given the countless criticisms leveled against him for his hillbilly attitudes toward his presidency and foreign policy (when asked once about his proudest moment in office, his reply was having caught a 7.5lb fish in his own lake); his role in post-9/11 fear mongering and the subsequently devastating and illegal wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, vowing to stay the course without an exit strategy in sight; his half-hearted and haphazard relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina (after which Kanye West righteously and possibly truthfully declared "George Bush doesn't care about black people"); and, lest we forget, the debacle that raged around accusations of rigging the ballot during both federal elections, it's enough for the sensitive and sensible among us to pine for the days before this imbecile took the reigns of the most powerful country in the world. For many it is tempting to vilify him for all of the trouble that has arisen since his successful campaign six years ago and hold him personally accountable for each and every life that has been affected, as if everything has been singularly his fault. Being the president, he is a convenient target, especially for unilaterally-minded would-be revolutionists and instigators. There is a fundamental and tragic fallacy in this stance, though, which is the motivation behind British filmmaker Gabriel Range's Death Of A President, a fictitious yet eerily convincing documentary-style examination of Bush's assassination and its ensuing fallout which is far less incendiary than its present reputation suggests but much more intriguing than its primary conceit implies.

It likely occurred to Range and his crew that their film would be met with a lot of resistance simply because it used the murder of Bush as a jumping point for a commentary on the social climate in America. Actually, the fact that theatre chains are prematurely, sight unseen, refusing to screen it while others are altogether trying to ban it is indicative of the urgent need for a re-evaluation of priorities and rights which the film ultimately stands for. That a segment of the American population is so ready and willing to deny them the constitutional right to free speech - to actually censor this film - may have been accounted for at the outset. Certainly this is going to rile up people who, despite their political views, believe in any case that the constitution must be honoured and upheld.

For those who are able to see it, they will realize that it is neither anti-Bush nor pro-GOP. Eschewing partisan bias in its portrayal of Bush's demise, Death Of A President is a realistic if not probable assessment of an America that is at once very vulnerable yet seemingly incapable of preventing itself from slipping off a steep precipice. It functions best as a cautionary tale, less interested in presenting graphic exploitation, sick anarchist fantasy (I'm looking at you, V For Vendetta), or startlingly new information, but rather underscoring the contentious elements of American society which are ripping apart its very fabric. Range devotes ample time to a broad sampling of figures directly related to the infamous event: a Muslim couple from Syria who attract intense scrutiny; an African-American soldier recently returned from combat in Iraq and currently grappling with drugs; an environmental/social activist who justifies his outrageous behaviour by invoking Bush's status as a war criminal; Bush's primary speech writer; and various agency officials whose job it was to respond to and investigate the crime. We meet each in alternating interviews and voice-overs as they offer their two cents about what happened the night Bush died and how their lives have been affected since. It is their chronology of events and unique interpretations which provide the main fodder for the film, and as we learn about each development it becomes apparent how little the assassination has done to change anything for the better. The greatest strength of Death Of A President lies not in any grand, sweeping proclamations but instead in the dreadful revelation that removing Bush would be akin to cutting the head off a dragon and having two more grow in its place. He's merely a figurehead and is not, nor has he ever really been the issue. It is one thing to oppose the president; it is another to oppose the system and its machinations which have allowed him to gain power and act. As the wife of Jamal Abu Zikiri, the Syrian man fingered by the feds as the culprit, intones ruefully, did the assassin not realize or care just what he was doing when he carried out his mission? If anything, the country's already xenophobic anti-terrorist resolve would be reinforced and rejuvenated.

Even though Death Of A President gets everything just about right (especially technically; the creative use of real-life footage and CGI to make people appear out of context is as good, if not better, than similar footage in Forrest Gump and Zelig), there will be some who are sure to find its subject matter lackluster or redundant. Anyone reasonably informed about contemporary politics would be able to predict with as much accuracy as the filmmakers the same outcome reached by the film. People, we are reminded, are conditioned to suspect Muslims and brown people, so if a man makes an embarrassing trip to Afghanistan during the '90s (or the "wrong summer camp," as the phony FBI chief puts it), or has a father from Yemen overstay his tourist visa, that makes him more guilty. More damning still, if evidence surfaces which may exonerate such a person and implicate someone else, people will remain wary regardless. Keeping an open mind sincerely interested in seeing how these imaginary dominoes would fall, I was not particularly surprised or compelled by the modest suspense generated by the question over who really killed Bush. Others, naturally, will find this illuminating, depending on their degree of knowledge regarding American affairs. The film can't be faulted for its presentation; however, it must be said that at best it is a reiteration of what many will consider common knowledge, not bringing anything new to the table.

Gabriel Range seems to have an affinity for the hypothetical documentary genre. His previous feature, The Day Britain Stopped, foretold the collapse of the British rail system and the impact it would have on society, and I would argue that Peter Watkins' Oscar-winning The War Game and the equally anti-nuclear Threads were significant inspirations. The possibilities for this underused type of filmmaking are ripe, and I eagerly anticipate Range's next work. However, as far as Death Of A President is concerned, its insights, though valid, risk striking some as stale. What would I have preferred? A hybrid of this film and the recent Man Of The Year. I want to see how the world of adroit comedic media pundits like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert would handle a presidential assassination and its aftermath; or, maybe Fox News. Either way, I bet they'd each do their part to help us laugh and convalesce.

(Death Of A President opens this Friday at Crystal Palace 8 Cinemas, located at 499 Paul St., Dieppe.)