Kevin Costner: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked
2. Jim Garrison - JFK
November 22, 1963. It was a day that everyone who lived through it will remember and tell you exactly where they were, and how they felt. It was the same thing our generation felt on 9/11. Decades later, Oliver Stone perfectly captured these sentiments, along with quite a few conspiracies, in his 1991 political thriller JFK. But just take one look at the famous movie poster for this film: it has an image of Kevin Costner as our title character Jim Garrison, glaring out towards the audience amongst the tattered fragments of an American flag, as if daring us to question our government along with him. Costner is Jim Garrison. From his rambling speeches, to his insightful comments, to his hard-edged cynicism; we see an actor who is in complete control of a complicated and demanding role.
Look no further than the final speech given in court by Garrison, which was to convince the jury to convict Clay Shaw, a suspect in the assassination. The speech at first delves into the details- the assassination itself, the life of Lee Harvey Oswald, the magic bullet theory, the reasons behind the killing, and more. But then, for the last few minutes, the entire court is hushed in silence, as Costner emotionally presents his final closing remarks, explaining that: The country still belongs to us, as long as the people still have the courage to fight for what they still believe in.
Its so quiet, you can hear a pin drop. Supposedly, this entire speech was done in one take, as Costner wanted to prove that not only was he a critically successful actor, (Dances With Wolves came out the year before) but also a critically acclaimed one too. He easily proves that as Jim Garrison in JFK. And whether the facts of the film itself are right or wrong, its hard to disagree with such enthusiasm.