Bobby

In the Spring of 1968, Robert Kennedy ran for President. After his brother's death in 1963 and the following murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, the climate of the nation was sustained by chaos. Kennedy's life ended at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 4, 1968 by an assassin's gun while awaiting the results of the California primary. Bobby is the multi-layered chain of events chronicling the lives of the people inhabiting The Ambassador Hotel that infamous day.

From a woman (Lindsay Lohan) marrying a soldier (Elijah Wood) in order to be able to send him to Germany instead of Vietnam and save his life, to the Kitchen Staff, headed by a racist (Christian Slater,) being able to vote to a pair of socialites (Helen Hunt and Martin Sheen) looking for the perfect pair of black shoes to wear to the gala, Bobby is a brilliantly woven yarn. It's loaded with perfect pacing, a great music selection and top acting (yes, even Ms. Lohan) featuring both award-winniners and newbies. And the editing is stunning: with selections from footage of interviews and speeches given by the real Robert Kennedy and news footage from the coverage of the vietnam war and its accompanying protests intercut with the action of the cast. The atmosphere of hope surrounding the anticipated victory is built by degrees as the emotion rises and crashes hard as the bullets fly. It woos this jaded film-watcher, stirring my emotions, pulling my heartstrings and I weep, inspired by the care, love and soul this story holds profoundly.

And the theme of duty, honor, love and brotherhood, compounded by tragedy of failure in hope lost: it's painfully beautiful. The remorse felt by two young campaign workers who choose to engage in a drug-induced haze rather than work the campaign is felt keenly as they realize the waste of the day: the tragedy being real because we know it wouldn't have made a difference. And the special gift of a radio by one of the kitchen staff to his co-worker, so that he could listen to the baseball game he's missing, adds a glimmer of hope following such a crushed dream. Wood and Lohan's wedding couple is my favorite story alongside Hunt and Sheen's socialite couple, as they offer hope, love and they way we all wish life could be. But all is shattered by the killer's gunfire, not only ending the hope of the nation, but shattering the lives of five others who were injured that night. But there is hope still for us, even if the past wasn't healed by the rise of the hope of the people inside The Ambassador, the chorus which becomes a motif says, "never gonna break my faith," adding a defiant prayer of sheer will. This film is truly inspiring, inviting us to take a stand and put all divisions between us and our brother human beings aside to heal our surroundings.

When I purchased this film several years ago, it was an pure impulse buy: but I'm grateful that the moment was not passed over, because I love this film. I learn so much about filmmaking from the elegant package and the brilliant story told, every time I watch it; whether it be the inspirational personal stories or the stunning use and staging in the juxtaposition between the stock footage of the event and the performances by the cast and crew. The final montage, underscored by one of Kennedy's speeches, shows the aftermath for each of our cast as they mourn, seek help and reconnect, stealing my tears and inspiring duty, honor, brotherhood and love and the hope to carry on in any situation as the film comes to a close.

*****

IN: Shia LaBeouf

Out: Anthony Hopkins

Coming Soon: Hannibal Lecter and a Study on Character Archetypes: The Villainous Protagonist