by Rajkhet Dirzhud-Rashid
SGN A&E Writer
Death of a President
Directed by GabrielRange
Starring: Hend Ayoub, Brian Boland, Becky Baker,
Robert Mangiardi, Jay Patterson, Neko Parhan
Now playing
When I first started hearing buzz about a new film that depicts the death of President George W. Bush -- in a very realistic way -- I was both fascinated and a little fearful. Would this film ever be seen by the public, I wondered, or was it just some internet thing? Had some protest group dreamed this up in an election year where it looks like the Republicans are about to get the trouncing they deserve? Then, I got the press notes saying there’d be a screening of said film, Death of a President, and I knew I had to see if what was being said -- that it was too realistic and a bit sensationalistic -- was true.
Having seen the film now and had a few weeks to think about it (and tell friends about it), I have to say, yes, it is very realistic, and very, very provocative. And yes, even though I admit to throwing my shoe at the telly every time G.W. comes on the screen, this film even rattled me a bit. Particularly as it’s presented in the style of a real ‘day of’ documentary that proceeds to tell us what happened before the shooting and, then, covers the moment itself -- all in that muted, ominous, news footage style that makes the whole thing seem all too believable.
What’s most interesting though, is the way the filmmakers presented such an unbiased and ‘just the facts, ma’am’ point of view, choosing to let the events -- including a protest that gets out of hand and the subsequent police violence when Bush comes to Chicago for a keynote speech. What emerges is a chilling view of what could so easily happen in the aftermath of such an imagined event, how the country could skid even further along to fascism than it’s already gone and is going. Bound to stir controversy and I’d see it now -- as it just might be yanked -- in light of the current Administration’s determination to keep us fearful and docile.
