Parkland

As we approach the 50th anniversary of one of the most tragic events in American history, Parkland attempts to transport viewers back to the fateful events of Nov. 22, 1963.

For those old enough to remember, the film allows moviegoers to relive their memories of the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. For the younger generation, it might fill in some details of an event they’ve only read about in history books.

Yet it’s only mildly successful in its attempt to recapture the chaotic events of that day, in part because the film itself is so chaotic in terms of its structure and focus.

The film largely eschews politics and conspiracy theories in favor of focusing on ordinary folks whose lives were affected by the tragedy in different ways. There’s Abraham Zapruder (Paul Giamatti), the distraught grandfather whose video of the Dallas motorcade became the most famous image of the event; the eccentric family of suspected assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, who was killed himself the day after Kennedy was shot; the various doctors and medical staff at Parkland Hospital who treated both Kennedy and then Oswald the following day; and an FBI agent (Ron Livingston) who was tracking Oswald and might have been able to apprehend him two weeks earlier.

The film marks the directorial debut of novelist Peter Landesman, whose gritty visual style employs hand-held cameras that help give the material a documentary feel. He also attracted an eclectic ensemble cast that includes Billy Bob Thornton, Jacki Weaver and Zac Efron.

Parkland succeeds best in its first half, depicting the immediate aftermath of the assassination itself, mostly within the walls of the hospital and the efforts of the public to process what happened.

The second portion of the film becomes more episodic and almost anticlimactic as it follows the doctors back to work, the Oswald family through its grief, and the FBI through a potential public relations nightmare. But none of that matches the tension that makes the re-creation of the shooting so vivid, and it doesn’t allow for much development of those characters.

The film provides some scattered insight and cool trivial details (for example, it depicts how Kennedy’s coffin was loaded through the passenger door of Air Force One). However, the overall approach is consistently more safe than surprising.

Rated PG-13, 93 minutes.