One upcoming Oscar bait film that has been flying surprisingly low under the radar has been Peter Landesman’s Parkland, a true-history drama about the fallout surrounding the JFK assassination, centralized at Dallas’ Parkland Hospital, where the 35th President of the United States was rushed after being shot in a motorcade by Lee Harvey Oswald.
Parkland releases in less than a month but promotional material for the film had been scarce up until this point. Today, we finally have the first trailer for the star-studded drama, which you can check out below:
My response? Wow. The film’s unique angle on such an infamous incident in our nation’s history is a truly intriguing set-up, and everyone in the cast looks to be at the top of their game. Parkland is definitely one to watch – it aims to capture the sheer chaos surrounding the highly emotional death of Kennedy, in a way that’s hopefully more historically accurate than Oliver Stone’s JFK.
Zac Efron appears to have landed a meaty role as Dr. Charles “Jim” Carrico, a doctor who attempted to save Kennedy’s life, and Paul Giamatti looks terrific as Abraham Zapruder, the accidental witness who captured the assassination on film. The Tom Hanks-produced film’s loaded cast also includes Colin Hanks, Billy Bob Thornton, Jeremy Strong, Jacki Weaver and Marcia Gay Harden. Co-starring are Jackie Earle Haley, James Badge Dale, and Tom Welling.
This is Landesman’s debut film, but with such a great cast, it’s hard to imagine how Parkland could go wrong. Judging by that first trailer, it’s going to be an intense, thrilling drama with a plethora of terrific performances. As long as Landesman’s screenplay doesn’t veer too far from the truth in the name of dramatic effect, Parkland should be a great watch.
The film opens in limited release on September 20th.
Are you excited for Parkland? What do you think of seeing the JFK assassination from the perspective of the medical professionals who treated Kennedy after the shooting? Let us know in the comments section.
