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Bobby
(2006)  
Review
Emilio
Estevez' resonant rendition of the night of 5 June 1968 at the
Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles is an echoing comment on a society with
dangerous tendencies. It is a powerful political
criticism that never degrades into simple kicks or propaganda.
Weaving the
lives of an ensemble of
fictitious
characters connected to Robert F. Kennedy or the
Ambassador Hotel that crucial day of RFK's assassination with the real-life
circumstances around Kennedy's presidential campaign and the state of
affairs in US politics at the time, Estevez embarks on an
ambitious
cinematic project. The
scope is massive, yet despite all the issues the film touches upon,
Estevez shrewdly prevents it from becoming overloaded. To what degree and on what level Bobby
will work is partly down to your individual experience, but it most
certainly will be fruitful for people from most
backgrounds, and perhaps particularly for those who bring multiple points of
view.
Technically, the film is incredibly impressive
– the
combination of archive and new footage works like a charm, bringing
RFK's
spirit and
ideas closer to audiences than in a
long time. The film is also elegantly cut and shot, with an uncanny combination of
light humour and profound complexity creating the foundation for a layered
and entertaining film.
The combination of engaging, episodic drama and poignant social and
political commentary makes Bobby an effective reminder of how
different the world might have been today had it not
been for the infamous assassinations of two of the most visionary American
politicians of the 20th century.
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