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DEATH OF A PRESIDENT Send This Review to a Friend
Slickly put together and shown at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival, “Death of a President” skillfully uses real clips and digital trickery to weave a chilling portrait of what could happen to Bush during a trip to Chicago in 2007. But such a conjecture involving a sitting president is ghoulish and even angry opponents of Bush would not see a presidential assassination as something to rationally desire.
However, the film is not projecting that as wish fulfillment. It is examining what happens in the aftermath as a wrong person is accused and trapped in the hysteria of the times against an unpopular minority.
Directed by Gabriel Range and co-written by him and Simon Finch, “Death of a President” is a film that examines how off the deep end America is and how it could get worse. In that sense, the film has something to say. But it is not profound enough to offset the nastiness of the premise that many might consider irresponsible.
Censoring it would be wrong, but it is not surprising that there are theaters that would not want to book the film. Plaudits to the Toronto International Film Festival for having the courage to include it. But all said, “The Death of a President” is not especially involving once one gets past the provocative premise. A Newmarket Films and Film4 release.
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