Interview with the Assassin
The old man who lives across the street, Walter Ohlinger (Raymond J. Barry), invites his neighbor, Ron Kobeleski (Dylan Haggerty), over because he has a secret that he's never told anyone: He claims he was the grassy knoll assassin who shot John F. Kennedy and wants Haggerty to document his confession. He has the bullet casing which he saved and says there is one witness left alive who can prove his story. The two search for the man that hired Ohlinger, but are thwarted by mysterious forces who seemingly wish to keep Ohlinger's story suppressed. Interview With the Assassin is shot almost completely from the perspective of Haggerty's video camera and it ties in a number of well-known Kennedy-assassination-related conspiracy theories, though doesn't mix them all up like Oliver Stone's JFK.
Director: Neil Burger
Starring: Raymond J. Barry, Dylan Haggerty, Renee Faia, Kelsey Kemper, Dennis Lau
Barry's deliberately unspectacular performance makes this even more powerful. He gives "Assassin" a disquieting authority.
The film's best trick is the way that it treats conspiracy as a kind of political ''Blair Witch,'' a monstrous murk that haunts us precisely because it can never be seen.
Neil Burger's sharply conceived, inventive movie is a highly involving piece of work.
May be something of a stunt, but it's a fascinating stunt that holds your attention from the start to shortly before the finish.
Like ''Blair,'' it never quite finds a way out of its own built-in dead-end.
USA
Avignon Film Festival (2003)
Best Cinematography
Independent Spirit Awards (2003)
Best Feature Film
Woodstock Film Festival (2002)
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