Death of a President (2006)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Gabriel Range

Writers:

Simon Finch (writer)
Gabriel Range (writer)

Release Date:

21 December 2006 (South Korea)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Do not rush to judge.

Plot:

Years after the assassination of President George W. Bush in Chicago, an investigative documentary examines that as-yet-unsolved crime. |

Plot Keywords:

Assassination | Gulf War Veteran | Wrongful Conviction | Shot In The Chest | Anarchism

Awards:

6 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Hend Ayoub	...	Zahra Abi Zikri
Becky Ann Baker	...	Eleanor Drake
Brian Boland	...	Larry Stafford
Michael Reilly Burke	...	Robert H. Maguire
Patricia Buckley	...	Dawn Newton
Seena Jon	...	Samir Masri
Robert Mangiardi	...	Greg Turner
Neko Parham	...	Casey Claybon (as M. Neko Parham)
Jay Patterson	...	Sam McCarthy
Chavez Ravine	...	Marianne Claybon
Christian Stolte	...	John Rucinski
James Urbaniak	...	Dr. James Pearn
Jay Whittaker	...	Frank Molini
Patrick Clear	...	Adam Brock
David Girolmo	...	Spokesman

Also Known As:

D.O.A.P. (Canada: English title) (festival title)

MPAA:

Rated R for brief violent images.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | UK:12 | Australia:M | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-11 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:12 | Japan:PG-12 | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Borough Films

Trivia:

The rifle used by the murderer was actually an airsoft replica (G&G SR25) of a AR15.

Goofs:

Factual errors: A news reporter says the aircraft carrier Nimitz is being sent back to the Mediterranean Sea. The file footage they show is of the aircraft carrier Enterprise.

Quotes:

[end title cards]
Title card: One year after his conviction, Jamal Abu Zikri has still not been granted leave to appeal.
Title card: He remains on death row in Statevill Correctional Center.
Title card: Since recording the interview for this film Robert H Maguire has resigned as Head of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.
Title card: USA PATRIOT III, introduced in the days after the assassination, has since been turned into permanent law.
Title card: It has granted investigators unprecedented powers of detention and surveillance, and further expanded the powers of the executive branch.

Ignore most reviews, and SEE for yourselves

A lot of these reviews seem to be by either US Americans who have yet to see this film, and are so insecure about their patriotism they have to come on to IMDb and slate it, or seemingly by people who made up their mind before watching it and refuse to change their stance after doing so.

The point of the film is NOT some perverse fantasy about killing the current President of the United States of America, George Walker Bush Jr. People who say otherwise either haven't seen it or are wanting to purposely misguide you.

It is a drama in the style of a documentary (one that would air on television rather then a cinema screen) that looks at a possible run up to an assassination of the president, as well as how the investigation might be handled afterwards with the involvement of Dick Cheney (who would take over the Presidency if George Bush was assassinated).

The drama does not dwell or linger on the death of the president at all, in fact apart from Bush being crammed into his presidential car by secret service and whizzed away at high speed, that is all the viewer sees. You then find out about his death from mock news reports. Hardly a sordid gratification from a 'perverse' director.

The drama is convincing as a documentary by realistic interviews with decent unknown actors playing their roles just right without hyperbole as could quite easily be the case.

Without spoiling exact plot points, the drama makes a point in how the government may be more interested in finding a suspect and making the evidence fit the profile because it is more politically advantageous then actually running an investigation to find out exactly what happened, and draw suspects that way. Considering the current climate where seemingly the Geneva Convention is open to interpretation, and restrictions on Habeus Corpus, this suggestion is not far fetched in the slightest.

It aired on 'More 4' in the UK, a channel from Channel 4 television, and I'd imagine it would air on an American network at some point, or maybe a limited screening at cinemas if the US networks lose their bottle.

So for my US brothers and sisters, consider what I've written, and go SEE it and decide for yourself. That's what the freedom as a US Citizen entitles you to do.